Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl admits it was a frustrating transfer window for the club.

Saints offloaded six players in January, but were unable to bring in any new players to aid their relegation battle.

When questioned whether it's better to bring in fresh faces at the end of the season, Saints' manager said: "Absolutely.

"There is a big argument for this and it was important to see that physically we made a big step forward with this group.

"It was a very crucial thing for me.

"If I had the feeling that we can't stand the physically that I demand from the players, I would have bought players in during the winter window, that was for sure.

"But I can see that we have developed our game, and also our physical quality and that helps us enormously.

"We had a few options in the pipeline but it's not easy in the winter transfer window to find the players that help you immediately."