FRONTMAN Che Adams insists Saints had the “character” to respond to their dismal slump in form but insisted: “No one else is going to help us get through this.”

The striker returned to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s line-up as one of five changes made in Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat to Tottenham.

Saints’ form has gone off a cliff in recent months.

Since beating Liverpool on January 4, Hasenhuttl’s troops have lost 12 out of 15 league games, picking up just seven points in the process.

Asked if there had been some honest words in the dressing room after their latest reverse with emotions running high, Scotland international Adams told the Daily Echo: “Yeah. Obviously, it’s an emotional game and we are all emotional people in the dressing room.

“It’s just about staying positive and coming together because that’s all we’ve got. No one else is going to help us get through this rough spell.

“Like last season as well, we came through on the bright side, so we’ve definitely got the character to do so.”

Saints had been top of the Premier League earlier this season but are now nine points clear of the bottom three with six games of their season remaining.

Quizzed on what he put the decline in form down to, Leicester-born Adams replied: “It’s such a difficult one to answer because we are playing so well in the first half. We are getting goals and scoring goals

“But it’s just about minimising the opposition’s chances they are getting on goal and staying consistent in the game – i.e. by pressing and things like that.”

Saints had surged into the lead at Tottenham thanks to Danny Ings’s first-half header.

But Gareth Bale levelled on the hour mark before the contest’s deciding moment came late on.

Moussa Djenepo fouled Sergio Reguilon and, after a VAR check, the offence was deemed inside the box, leaving Heung Min-Son to slot home from the penalty spot.

“It was devastating,” said Adams.

“To lose a game in that fashion is horrible. Especially when we’ve competed so well in the first half, you know?

“I think we were all confused because we were lining up for a free-kick but they have seen it back and it’s a penalty because it’s on the line.

“It’s horrible. We competed so well in the first half and to let it slip with a decision like that is even worse but it’s the Premier League and it’s all about fine margins.”

He added: “I think in the second half we played a little less football than we are used to doing. I am not sure why we do that in so many games but I think it was one of them.

“We just let them get back into the game. We didn’t press them high enough.

“If you’re not competing at the highest then, in the Premier League, when they get a chance, they are going to take it.”