Ralph Hasenhuttl conceded he has been concerned by the mentality shown by his Southampton side in their opening fixtures.
Southampton have lost all three of their games in all competitions so far this season, going down 1-0 to Crystal Palace, 2-0 to Brentford – in the EFL Cup – and suffering a 5-2 defeat to Tottenham on Sunday, despite going ahead through Danny Ings' goal.
Hasenhuttl's side ended last season on a fine run of form, yet the Saints have failed to pick up where they left off and the former RB Leipzig boss believes they need a mentality shift if they are to pick up a result against Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday.
"We are a little bit critical when we watch our performance because we know the level that we have shown at the end of last season," Hasenhüttl told reporters. "We are not that happy to see us playing – even in the first half [against Tottenham], when we definitely didn't play bad, was still not the way we can play.
"This is something I haven't seen for a long time. We suddenly lost our way completely and mentally were not strong enough to fight back. This is impossible and definitely something we criticised this week. For us, it's a clear message to do it better and show up. We have to show that we are better."
Former Burnley striker Ings is the key man for Southampton, but Sean Dyche knows the visitors pose more than just one threat.
"It won't be just about Ingsy, they proved that after lockdown last season," Dyche told a news conference. "They are a good group with a good energy about them. Ingsy had a great season last year and is a good player but they have more than that."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Burnley – Dwight McNeil
McNeil is one of Burnley's main attacking talents. The winger can deliver a brilliant cross, and he provided the assist for Jimmy Dunne's goal against Leicester.
Southampton – Danny Ings
No team is more reliant on one player than Southampton are with Ings. The former Burnley striker has scored 24 of the south coast club's 53 Premier League goals since the start of last season (45 per cent), with none of his team-mates managing more than five during that time.
KEY OPTA FACTS
• Burnley are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League meetings with Southampton (4-3-0), having lost two of their first three against them in the competition (1-0-2).
• Southampton have only won one of their 11 top-flight away games against Burnley (1-3-7), a 1-0 win in March 1971. Indeed, Saints have never scored more than once in an away top-flight game against Burnley (six goals total).
• Southampton have not started a Premier League season with three consecutive defeats since their first season back in the division in 2012-13.
• Burnley have lost their first home game in four of their previous six Premier League campaigns, though they did win their opener at Turf Moor last season – 3-0 against Southampton.
• Since Hasenhuttl's first game in charge in December 2018, Southampton have dropped more points from winning positions than any other Premier League side (37), letting a further three slip from a 1-0 lead in their defeat to Spurs last weekend.
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