Romeu agrees with 'hard' Hasenhuttl verdict on Southampton target

The St Mary’s side have slipped down the Premier League table from ninth to 15th after a run of just one win in nine league matches.

Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at home to Palace sees Saints left with 40 points and just three matches to play, three points behind the top 10 with opponents boasting games in hand.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s charges still have eight points between them and the relegation zone, and – although some supporters may be nervy – are unlikely to see that ground assailed.

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But in the words of Hasenhuttl himself, Saints have yet again failed to achieve what they wanted, despite putting themselves in such a good position by the end of February.

Ralph Hasenhuttl and his coaching team look on (Pic: Sean Ryan)

“It's going to be hard now, harder than before this match,” Romeu agreed, speaking to the Daily Echo. “We were not thinking this game was going to be a loss.

“Also last week we were fighting against a team in the same position we were (Brighton) and winning or losing makes a big difference to the table. Losing today was not what we were hoping.

“We’ve still got three matches and we will see how many points we can get from those. To get any chance to get there is getting back to a solid team, getting the balls back in the first half and to create a lot more chances.”

He continued: “It’s disappointing and tough to take because we started well, we knew that we were playing against a team that is a similar place in the table and winning today would have given us a lot of chances to finish top 10.

“This is what we wanted, hoping and were expecting. They were in the second-half a lot more intelligent in the way we played and we didn’t create enough chances. I think it could have gone either way, but they deserved it a bit more than we did.

The Saints squad huddle ahead of kick-off (Pic: Sean Ryan)

“Every time you lose, you’re disappointed, and every time you don’t get what you are expecting it is a tough one to take. This is what we are here for, and we can still improve.”

With the team goals being dashed before their eyed and a top-half finish severely unlikely, Romeu was asked what is going to motivate the players in the final three matches.

“For us, to finish the season well,” he insisted. “It will be nice if we can finish well and show what we can do.

“Today is disappointing and not a nice one but we will go again for the last three matches, competing and giving as many chances as we can to finish higher up the table.”

Romeu scored his second goal of the Premier League campaign – the first time he has notched two in a league season – with a planted header inside 10 minutes of the Palace contest.

Oriol Romeu celebrates his early opener (Pic: Sean Ryan)

It follows the Spaniard missing two golden headed chances during the dismal 2-0 defeat at Burnley’s Turf Moor, earlier in the month.

“When you’re scoring if you’re not getting any point from it, it’s not a nice feeling,” Romeu added. “Hopefully the next one I score is to win or to get at least a point because it is not nice."

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