Ralph Hasenhuttl wasn’t best pleased with the outcome of Southampton’s trip to Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon.

For much of the game, Saints were on top and headed into the closing stages with a 1-0 lead thanks to another goal from Danny Ings.

However, a late fightback saw Newcastle steal all three points from Southampton’s grasp, as efforts from Jonjo Shelvey and Federico Fernandez helped them into the top half of the Premier League table.

Hasenhuttl felt aggrieved by the defeat and aimed a thinly-veiled dig at the Magpies, claiming that he only saw his side trying to play football at St James’ Park.

It’s safe to say that these Newcastle fans had little sympathy for the Austrian…

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Read Southampton’s verdict

Hasenhuttl can’t really have a problem. On countless occasions this season, Saints have played ugly football. The difference has been that the team haven’t been able to grind out results like Newcastle have.

Southampton were the better side on Sunday, and it was a largely encouraging performance.

However, they failed to deal with Newcastle’s high balls into the box appropriately, and Andy Carroll’s introduction changed the game.

It wasn’t pretty, and it wasn’t the type of football you’d want to watch week-in, week-out. However, Steve Bruce probably deserves some credit for helping his side complete such a turnaround in a vital match.

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