#PLStories- Ralph Hasenhuttl refutes Saints team is playing on the beach after fighting draw against Brighton #SAINTSFC #BHAFC

RALPH Hasenhuttl has refuted suggestions of his Saints players being “on the beach” following the 2-2 draw at Brighton, insisting “we have shown they are not”. The St Mary’s side had come under fire following the depressing two-goal defeat at relegation-threatened Burnley on Thursday – where they were outfought from first to last. Saints had ended a run of five Premier League matches without victory with a 1-0 win over Arsenal the previous Saturday, but slipped back into prior form in Lancashire. The claims of players mentally being on their holidays with survival all wrapped up were only fuelled when Brighton took a 2-0 lead at Amex Stadium, inside the first-half on Sunday. Brighton took the lead inside two minutes on Sunday (Pic: PA) However, thanks to a James Ward-Prowse free-kick and long-range strike, Saints went on to rescue a point in Sussex – and put in a performance which could have harboured more. Read more “It was said last week that the guys on the pitch seemed to be on the beach,” Hasenhuttl recalled. “But we have shown today that they are not. “They want to achieve more than 40 points and today we showed a very, very good reaction. It is not the first time this season we have shown it, we have shown it very often.” He continued: “Also now where some people think the season is gone for us because we have now 40 points and you can be sure that we want to get more. We have four games to go and still have plenty of points to take and we will keep on going.” Brighton’s early opener, scored by Danny Welbeck inside 90 seconds, was the first goal the Seagulls had scored at home since January – blanking in five fixtures since. They have won just three home matches all season, and would be relegated on home form alone so far. Hasenhuttl insisted his side could sense the fragility and were urged to keep pushing. “We kept the pressure high on them and we knew about the history they had in their own ground where they haven’t won a lot of games this season,” he added. “It was clear they are a little bit struggling mentally and we tried to use this fact and absolutely deserved the equaliser.” A message from the Editor Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support in reading the Daily Echo. Subscribing to the Echo means you have unrestricted access to the latest news, features and Saints coverage - all with an advertising-light website. You will also have full access to Saintsplus, your new home for Southampton FC tactical analysis, features and much, much more. Don't take my word for it - subscribe here to see for yourself. Follow the latest breaking news in the Southampton area by joining our Facebook group - Southampton News - Breaking News and Incidents Follow the latest court and crime news on our dedicated Facebook group - Hampshire Court and Crime News