KEVIN Danso believes being played out of position and complacency were two of the main reasons why his move to Saints did not work out.

The Austrian international defender arrived at St Mary's on loan from Augsburg in August 2019, with Saints also having an option to make the deal permanent the following summer.

However, things did not go to plan, with Danso making just 10 appearances, which included a red card and a 9-0 defeat, before he left England again.

Speaking in an interview with The Athletic, the 23-year-old said: "I had a psychologist to help me (at Saints).

"They had helped me in the past with other things and helped me get out of the spiral.

“It’s difficult because you can do all of these things, but when you aren’t doing what you love and playing every week, it is the most difficult thing in terms of football.

“I knew all I needed was one game, so I was trying to prepare myself to take the opportunity if I got one. I wanted to be ready to prove myself to the manager that I can do it.”

He continued: “I am very critical, and for some part, I am to blame myself.

“It was my first time back in England for five years and I spent a lot of time with my friends and maybe not enough time focusing as I did in Germany.

“At the same time, when you are playing out of position and things like that, it all adds up to things not going your way. But I can’t just put all the blame on external factors because there are players who come, play out of position and still excel.

“I wanted it to work out, but when you play out of position you maybe need the extra focus that I didn’t have. I should have concentrated more and read the game more.

“I tried to do that, and when it started well, I took a bit of a backseat and became complacent. I needed to invest a little bit more to ensure it went in the direction I wanted it to.”

Southampton's Kevin Danso during the Carabao Cup match between Fulham and Southampton. Photo by Stuart Martin..

Having played his part in two early-season wins over Brighton and Fulham, Danso was then sent off as Saints drew with Manchester United.

Following his suspension, he returned to the team to face Bournemouth at St Mary's, but was hooked at half-time as Saints lost 3-1.

“I had never played left-back professionally, but was doing so, then three weeks later he (Hasenhuttl) decided to play me as a right-back against Bournemouth," explained the former MK Dons youth ace.

“I had just become used to playing on the left, and then I was switched to the right.

“In that game against Bournemouth, they realised I was playing out of position and exploited it really well. Callum Wilson and Dominic Solanke overloaded on my side.

“As a manager, Ralph would have seen what was happening and I don’t blame him for taking me off. The biggest problem was not playing enough games as a centre-half because I wasn’t able to show what I could do.”

From there, Danso's game-time was limited. He made just three more Premier League appearances, including 45 minutes of the 9-0 home loss to Leicester.

After returning to Germany in 2020, Danso joined Lens in France the following summer, becoming a regular in the team in Ligue 1.

Southamptons Kevin Danso during the FA Cup match between Southampton and Spurs. Photo by Stuart Martin..

Southampton's Kevin Danso during the FA Cup match between Southampton and Spurs. Photo by Stuart Martin..

Discussing his final months at Saints, the defender said: “It is lonely because nobody knows exactly how you are feeling.

“People assume you aren’t working hard enough and it is a difficult time.

“I had never gone through something like that before and I had always played the majority of games. But it is where I learned the most about myself.

“I learned that you can never take a back seat, even if you are playing week in, week out. There are always people behind you working hard to get in front of you. All in all, it was a tough time mentally.

“But maybe that’s what I needed to kick on.”

He added: "Anyone in football who says they don’t start doubting themselves when they go through tough spells would be lying.

“It is about getting out of that downward spiral and giving yourself that confidence whenever you do something well in training. You have to give yourself a pat on the back sometimes because the people around you aren’t necessarily going to do it.

“That’s where you need to build that strength and come out of the tough times.”

Despite falling out of favour at Saints, Danso insists he maintained a good relationship with Hasenhuttl.

“Even when I left, he (Hasenhuttl) was very nice and apologised for not giving me enough opportunities," said the Voitsberg-born talent.

“Football is a business, and his job is on the line every single day.

"He has to pick the players he feels will get the results that keep him in a job.”

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