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Ralph Hasenhuttl: 'Sheffield United must not be underestimated'

Ralph Hasenhuttl: 'Sheffield United must not be underestimated'
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The Blades prop up the rest of the Premier League.

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has warned his side not to think they will get an easy ride when facing struggling Sheffield United on Sunday.

The Blades prop up the rest of the Premier League, having mustered just one point from 11 games so far, with six defeats in a row.

Hasenhuttl's well-drilled side, meanwhile, head into the weekend's fixtures sitting fifth and on the back of only one defeat in the past nine matches.

The Austrian, though, will not allow any sense of complacency on Sunday, when Southampton will welcome back 2,000 fans to St Mary's Stadium for the first time since March.

"Before the game (on Monday night), everybody said 'Brighton, they are not so bad', then after when you win, (everybody says) 'yeah, it is only Brighton'," the Southampton manager said.

"But it is not 'only Brighton', it is definitely a strong side and you must always pay attention about how you discuss opponents.

"If it is not a big top-six club then (people say) every time 'it is not so difficult' – but that is absolutely not right.

"I told my players we did a fantastic job (on Monday), it is not easy to win there, but we went there and turned the tables to win 2-1, which was a fantastic performance from our side.

"What we have done there with the same intensity, defending against the ball with everything we have, we have to do exactly the same job in the next weekend.

"Then again you will hear 'it is only Sheffield United' – but no, it is not 'only Sheffield United'.

"This is a team which is definitely fighting for everything and to win against such a team is always a tough challenge for us.

"You will see how focused and concentrated we are, we only need the three points as a focus to give our best, and this is what we will do."

Hasenhuttl feels one of the keys to Southampton's consistency this season has been everyone buying into the same mindset.

"We are not maintaining (our position), we are still developing, we are still working hard on our game," said the Southampton manager, who reported no fresh selection concerns following Monday night's win.

"It is interesting to listen to the players talking about tactics and solutions with the ball, after training they are discussing it.

"This is definitely what I like to see, that they are really taking part in every session and really thinking about what we are trying to do.

"This is a fantastic atmosphere to get better – if you want only to hold what you have, that is not enough, you must develop and extend your qualities, this is what we try to do."

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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1384129191028
2Tottenham HotspurSpurs1374225121325
3Southampton137332518724
4Leicester CityLeicester138052417724
5Everton137242318523
6Chelsea1364326141222
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham136342116521
8Manchester CityMan City125521812620
9Manchester UnitedMan Utd116231917220
10Wolverhampton WanderersWolves136251317-420
11Aston Villa106042113818
12Crystal Palace135351918118
13Leeds UnitedLeeds135262224-217
14Newcastle UnitedNewcastle125251621-517
15Arsenal134271116-514
16Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton132561521-611
17Fulham132381222-109
18Burnley11236618-129
19West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom131481026-167
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd120111521-161

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