RALPH Hasenhuttl insisted Saints “expect to be successful” but warned: “Next season we have to have a bigger squad.”

The St Mary’s boss took charge of his 100th game at the helm of the club, during Saturday’s 2-0 victory over struggling Sheffield United.

Hasenhuttl was able to call on the likes of Kyle Walker-Peters, Ibrahima Diallo and Takumi Minamino on their respective returns from injury.

A decimating run of injury concerns has coincided with Saints’ slip down the Premier League table since the turn of the year.

And Hasenhuttl has called for more reinforcement in his squad for the 2021-22 campaign.

He said: “I see always the effort, always the belief and I also see that in some moments when we are struggling with injuries, we are not the same side.

“We expect to be successful and sometimes it’s tough because we cannot,

“This must be the goal for the future – have a wider and bigger squad, I think.

“Then we can also replace injuries better than we have done this season. This season we had a really bad run, but next season we have to have a bigger squad. Then we are able to manage these moments better.

“A Premier League season is so tough, so intense and there are so often moments over January, December where you have so many games coming up in a row and then you automatically have a few injuries.

“This is what we have to have above in the future.”