RALPH Hasenhuttl has given his assessment of Nathan Tella’s 45 minutes after he was introduced from the bench when Saints were 3-0 down at Liverpool.

The boss admits it was a difficult scenario to bring the 22-year-old into, with the game all-but gone before Virgil van Dijk’s volley from a corner sealed the deal.

It was his first Premier League appearance since the 1-0 victory over Leeds United and only the second time this campaign he had the opportunity to play over 10 minutes.

Tella was also joined by Nathan Redmond at half-time, as Hasenhuttl switched from a five-at-the-back to his usual 4-2-2-2.

Assessing what he saw from the Saints academy product, Hasenhuttl said: “Yeah, it was not easy to come in but I think both 10s did it good when they came on.

“We had a little bit more control of the spaces there and a little bit more, it was a little bit harder for them to play through our lines.

“This was the job they had to do and this was okay.”

Tella’s only start in the league came during the 3-1 defeat at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, while he started all three EFL Cup ties – also culminating in defeat at Chelsea, albeit in a penalty shootout.