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RALPH Hasenhuttl remained coy on the future of shotstopper Fraser Forster this week, not allowing himself to be drawn on whether a new deal will be offered to the 33-year-old. Forster has had a varied career at St Mary’s, finding himself in and out of the team – and the club, with the giant goalkeeper spending time on loan at former club Celtic in the recent past. With all four goalkeepers involved in the first team believed to have deals expiring at the end of this campaign, it remains to be seen who out of Forster, Alex McCarthy, Willy Caballero and Harry Lewis will be offered new deals. On top of the predicament of expiring deals, Hasenhuttl’s goalkeeping headache has been worsened by frequent injuries throughout the campaign. Caballero was drafted in after injuries stuck both McCarthy and Forster, with the latter regaining match fitness to reclaim the starting berth in Saints’ XI. With McCarthy still sidelined, Forster has largely impressed since returning in between the sticks, with strong performances in recent weeks. Speaking about Forster, Hasenhuttl commented: "We always speak about chances, and he (Forster) grabbed his chance definitely. "I must say we have a fantastic atmosphere at the moment with the goalkeeping team, Willy Caballero is a fantastic character and Fraser has definitely benefited from him because he is really a good guy. "He has done a fantastic job and this is why after Alex (McCarthy) was injured, we haven't struggled. “We have good replacements and he has done a good job. When pressed on whether Fraser’s recent performances would earn the former Newcastle youngster a new deal at St Mary’s, Hasenhuttl sidestepped the question. Instead, the Austrian chose to praise Fraser for his contributions to the team. "It is always helpful for me and for him if he delivers good performances, which help us, help him and in the end, the club,” added the 54-year-old. “This is what we want."

RALPH Hasenhuttl is keeping faith with Alex McCarthy but sends a message to his squad: “Players who did not show their best performances now have to show up because three games not good in a row is definitely really not helpful to stay in the team.” The 31-year-old former England international will have been left disappointed following both headed goals from Teemu Pukki and Grant Hanley at Norwich during the 2-1 defeat last weekend. Speaking ahead of the visit to Liverpool, boss Hasenhuttl was asked about what pressure Fraser Forster is putting on the number one shot-stopper. McCarthy has posted five clean sheets in 12 matches so far during the 2021-22 Premier League campaign with some impressive saves to boot. Read more That’s why the Austrian has been assured in his faith in the former Reading keeper, but he has stated that three disappointing performances could be enough for any member of his squad to lose their shirt. Alex McCarthy has started every Premier League game this campaign (Pic: Stuart Martin) Assessing the McCarthy and Forster competition, he said: “Everybody is under pressure from somebody else otherwise we wouldn’t be doing our job. “This is not only he goalkeeper but he has to feel that ‘there is somebody putting pressure on me and I have to bring the best performance’. “Alex didn’t show the best performance last week, there is no discussion about it, he knows it, I know it, everybody knows it. “On a normal day he makes the saves for the two goals, this he knows. This is the crucial situation for a goalkeeper, if he makes a mistake it is a goal. We can blame McCarthy all we want, but if we score more in the first half the match is killed. #saintsfc — Erik Franzo (@EFranzo17) November 20, 2021 Hasenhuttl continued: “But I remember also this season in the Watford game he had an unbelievable save to win us three points there, and he had also a few more games where he has unbelievable saves to keep us in the game. “He has done a fantastic job this season so far, this is why I am happy but on the other side it would be the same if Fraser was my number one goalkeeper and Alex is putting pressure on him. Fraser Forster performed well during the EFL Cup contests (Pic: PA) “I know that after one bad game changing it immediately would be horrible because the last thing you want to do is confuse them and not give him trust, but he has to show up – he also knows that one bad game can sometimes happen but you have to immediately show up. “It is not only him but there was a few players who did not show their best performance and they now have to show up because three games not good in a row is definitely really not helpful to stay in the team.”