RALPH Hasenhuttl admitted Saints are a "different side" when Danny Ings plays, after the striker netted twice to sink Crystal Palace this evening.

Ings, who had missed the past two matches with a hamstring injury, returned to start for Saints against the Eagles.

And he struck a brilliant goal in each half to earn his side a 3-1 victory, with Che Adams also on target. Fraser Forster also played a key role, saving a Luka Milivojevic penalty at 1-1.

The win lifted Saints up to 14th in the Premier League table, with three games to play.

Asked how much of a difference having Ings fit all season could have made to his side's chances, Hasenhuttl said: "Every season is a tough one and Ingsy again had a few problem this season.

"Last season he was fit. He had the break when he had COVID and we could rest him a little bit more.

"I know with Danny we are a different side, because he makes the chances we need to score. It is not only the goals where we don’t think it’s a chance, because the first goal was fantastic from him.

"This is the reason why he is so important for us."

Discussing the performance against Roy Hodgson's Eagles, Hasenhuttl added: "I think with the ball it was really good. We had not very aggressive opponents, so we can play more football and move them around a little bit.

"The automatism we tried today we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare it for this game, but it was quite good. We had a very good meeting on Sunday after the Liverpool game and then on Monday also.

"We had a few good chances also in the first half after a very bad start, conceding a goal immediately is normally the worst you can get against Crystal Palace.

"This was the key for staying in the game for coming back and then you need a goalkeeper who makes a save from a penalty, which is also important moment in this game.

"Then with Danny Ings and Che Adams, who scores the difficult ones, not the easy ones!"