Claude Puel insists he is staying focussed on guiding his squad towards more goals, rather than worrying about signing a new striker this month.

While the Saints boss has not ruled out a move for a goalscorer during January, he has previously hinted that he is happy with his squad as it is and would only move for a player that is a clear improvement, which he admitted it hard to find at this time of the year.

However, after Saints drew another blank at Burnley to slip to a fourth Premier League defeat in a row, the pressure was turned up a notch on Saints to act.

Puel said: “We will see this. We work with the chairman. We will see this with calm.

“If an opportunity to improve the squad we will see.

“For me, for the moment, it is important to keep my concentration about this team and to pass other things.

“It is always difficult after a loss, and after a loss not deserved.

“It is important to recover and to come back for the next game. We will see against Norwich. “It is an important competition, an important game of course. We play important games with all this many games in three competitions and it’s important now to finish January with the results of course.”

It has started to feel a little like being the same old story over and over again for Saints, who can play well but are left to rue a lack of cutting edge in the final third which ends up costing them.

“It is difficult of course to accept this. You can see this game with quality,” said Puel after the loss to Burnley at Turf Moor, which followed up the 1-0 win over Liverpool in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final.

“It was a difficult game against a difficult opponent with long balls, second balls, free kicks.

“We made strong work to resist without opportunity for the opponent and just one free kick, strange free kick for them to win this game. It is a big disappointment with this good work.

“The attitude, the same spirit, the same quality, like the game against Liverpool, but we didn’t deserve about this good play.

“Of course it is two different games with two different opponent and play but we can do very good work today and miss many chances, Dusan in the first half and also the second half, the opponent goalkeeper made good saves and maintain Burnley in the game.

“It is difficult after this game to tell other things. A lot of opportunities, no chances for the opponent, and it’s difficult to tell other things.”