BOSS Ralph Hasenhuttl joked Che Adams’s recent scoring drought could now be like the “ketchup bottle phenomenon” as the Saints frontman maintained his hunger for goals.

Adams had been starved of finding the net since December before rifling home a tasty half-volley against Sheffield United last time out.

It was the end of a 16-game run without a goal in all competitions for the Leicester-born star – who moved on to five goals for the season.

Adams came off the bench to replace the injured Danny Ings after just 13 minutes of the 2-0 win for Saints at Bramall Lane, with the latter now set to be out for around three weeks.

That means 24-year-old Adams could be included in Hasenhuttl’s starting XI to do battle at Manchester City on Wednesday (6pm).

Asked what Adams has to do to add consistency to his goalscoring, the Saints boss said: “Work on his finish, work on his final decision, make all the chances he has.

“He has a lot in the past. Always, in every game he gets the opportunity to score.

“There he must be, in some moments, more clinical. This is easy to say. A striker always likes to be clinical and makes a goal from every chance.

“He had again long run when he didn't score but maybe we have the ketchup bottle phenomenon. So a long time – nothing - then everything comes. I take it yeah!”

Adams has scored nine times in 65 appearances for Saints in all competitions, since joining from Birmingham in July 2019.

Asked how much breaking his latest drought would do for his confidence, the striker told the Daily Echo: “Hopefully it can give me another boost for scoring goals but the main thing is to win games as a team.

“We were more than deserving of doing better in the league and getting more points on the board – the main focus is on that now.

“Everybody has to be ready when they are called on. The team is hard-working and that’s what they need, someone who works hard for the team and dies for the shirt.

“It’s a shame about Danny – I don’t know how bad the injury is but he’s a good lad and we will all be with him.”

Adams opened his Saints scoring account with a stunning long-range strike against City during Project Restart last July.

And he is looking forward to pitting his wits against Pep Guardiola’s side once again.

“It’s going to be huge,” he added. “They are an amazing team and probably one of the best in the league – it’s no surprise where they are.

“It’s going to be a difficult one like any other game.

“We are more than capable of beating them. We beat them post lockdown, so we are going to be looking forward to that. Hopefully we can get the three points.”