Southampton striker Shane Long is not bothered about making sacrifices for his teammate Danny Ings.

The latter is in some of the best goalscoring form of his life, and it has helped the Saints to recover after a poor start to the season.

Long has also been an integral part of their success, and he is not worried about putting in the hard yards so Ings can get more chances to score.

And speaking to the club's website, Long said: "I think we get each other.

"I have a bit of experience, so I think he understands what I'm going to do, and he's a talented footballer as well.

"I don't mind throwing myself about, upsetting defenders and holding the ball up, and that allows him to get time in the box where he's lethal. He's a brilliant finisher.

"Don't get me wrong, he's good with his build-up play as well, but any chance we can get for me to do the work and get him into the box, it's always good for the team – as you can see, 15 goals in the Prem this season and a lot more to come.

"He's one of the top strikers in the league at finishing, so you want to get him in the box.

"For me it is all about results at the moment. We're on 31 points now and we're looking up rather than looking down. As long as Danny doesn't stop scoring, it takes the pressure off me a bit!"