Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has lauded James Ward-Prowse's leadership during their recent run of poor form.

Saints are just seven points above the relegation zone, but Hasenhuttl is delighted to have a captain like Ward-Prowse in his midst.

He told the Daily Echo: "He reacts how I expect a captain to react.

"This is not so much off the pitch, much more on the pitch because that is where you win games, not off the pitch.

"You have to walk out there and always be the role model of what we are standing for.

"When you see him running and him fighting for everything in every game then this is what a captain should do.

"Not speaking in the dressing room or telling people how it works, but showing it on the pitch how it works. For me, this is how a captain should be."