BOSS Ralph Hasenhuttl insisted “fantastic” Jannik Vestergaard “has the right mindset at the moment” after his impressive start to the season for club and country.

Left out of Saints’ starting XI for their opening league defeats against Crystal Palace and Tottenham, the towering centre-back was recalled to help his side keep clean sheets in wins over Burnley and West Bromwich Albion.

Vestergaard’s form has also branched on to the international scene.

He helped Denmark to a 4-0 victory over Faroe Islands before coming off the bench in Wednesday’s 1-0 success against England.

Those string of results mean the 28-year-old has totalled more than 330 minutes without conceding a goal for club and country this campaign.

Asked what that record would do for Vestergaard’s confidence, Hasenhuttl told the Daily Echo: “I think Jannik is a perfect example of a player who went through some difficult times here but never stopped improving his game.

“I think he has the right mindset at the moment.

“At the moment, he is very focused on his performance, gets more and more accepted inside the group and because of the way he plays with the ball, he’s fantastic.

“We now play a little more football. This is something that fits to him more than the thing we played before. That helps him to be in a better position on the pitch.

“Finally, the overall package is getting better and this is the reason why he gets the chance to play at the moment.”

Vestergaard is likely to line up for Saints when they make the trip to Chelsea in the Premier League tomorrow (3pm), going in search of three wins in a row.

In an interview with Goal.com while on international duty, the former Werder Bremen man admitted there “has been some contact from interesting clubs, for example in Spain” this summer, regarding the defender’s availability.

But he added: "I wanted to stay, just like other players chose to stay this summer, because we want to be a part of the great project going on here.”

Responding to those quotes from the centre-back, Hasenhuttl said: “The message shows me that – a player who didn’t always have the easiest time here because there were moments where he was not in the squad or didn’t play – that he is still convinced about what we are doing here.

“He sees that everybody who shows up gets the chance to play and, from us, the step in the national squad is also possible, so why would we want to play somewhere else?

“We also have our very clear way to play football. Players are getting better when they are with us and working hard with us.

“This is a very good fundamental you can offer every player when he is coming here.”