MANAGER Ralph Hasenhuttl hailed the “good attitude” of rising star Nathan Tella – as his stock in a Saints shirt continued to rise.

The former Arsenal youngster was described as “fantastic” by the Saints boss despite his team’s 2-1 defeat to Tottenham last time out.

Stevenage-born Tella played 84 minutes of his side’s loss to the north London outfit, before being replaced by Nathan Redmond.

It was Tella’s fourth start in the Premier League this campaign – having featured in eight of Saints’ past nine league contests.

Hasenhuttl told the Daily Echo: “I like especially the character of this guy.

“He has a good balance of enjoying what he does but not being too sloppy or too shy.

“I think this is a good balance of brave, not arrogant but brave – and still with a good workload, a good attitude.

“He also showed he can be a threat for the opponent. This is what we need in front.

“With his work against the ball in combination with his quality with the ball – he can be in the future a good alternative for us in the attacking stuff.

“For me, at the moment, he is the guy in the youth that is the furthest in his development so far.”

Talented forward Tella battled back from a serious knee injury to earn a new contract at Saints last July – keeping him with the club until at least the summer of 2023.

He also returned from a muscle problem earlier this season to play a key part in Saints’ first-team fixtures.

Asked after defeat to Spurs whether there was the need to manage the 21-year-old’s workload, Hasenhuttl replied: “Definitely yes, because for a young player it’s important to get the time for development – the time to get better.

“I think when he always gives us such performances like he did on Wednesday then it is a big statement from him for the future for him here.

“I think it was again a good performance against not such an easy defender, so it was good.”

Tella could once again be involved when Saints host Leicester City in the Premier League on Friday.