SAINTS caretaker boss Stuart Gray dismissed suggestions his players are still brooding over Glenn Hoddle's departure.

And neither is Gray losing any sleep over Saints lack of punch in front of goal.

Gray admitted: "People will look at three defeats in three games since Glenn left and draw their own conclusions."

But after seeing his side miss out in a spirited display against European spot chasing Chelsea, Gray said: "I don't think the players aremissing Glenn when you see a performance like that.

"I've told them that if they carry on playing that way we will turn the corner. The effort and commitment from all the players involved today was outstanding.

Saints came desperately close to ending what is now a three-match goal drought as both James Beattie and Jo Tessem struck timber.

Beattie has now gone six games without scoring since notching in the 2-0 win over Bradford, but Gray said: "It's not a worry that it's not happening in front of goal for us at the moment.

"If we weren't creating chances it would worry me. Even at Leeds we created chances and we created more against Chelsea.

"When you look at James Beattie's chance he probably caught the header too well. Then you look at Poyet. He hit it into the ground and it bonced over Jonah's head. That's the luck we're having at the moment. If one of our players had done that it would have bounced over the bar."

Gray has resisted the temptation to try and put his own imprint on Saints' shape, and insisted he was right to stick with the tried-and-trusted methods under Hoddle.

"We have got 44 points this season by playing to a certain shape.

"The players are happy with it and have gelled into it. But when I felt I had to change the shape to chase the game, I did."