RALPH Hasenhuttl praised the reaction of captain James Ward-Prowse during the club's difficult run of results, stating: "This is how a captain should be."

The midfielder took the armband from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in June of last year, initially on a temporary basis until the end of the prolonged 2019-20 campaign.

He has since continued in the role and in his first six months as skipper, things could not have gone much better for Saints.

Hasenhuttl's men were one of the standout sides during Project Restart and made a flying start to this season, topping the Premier League for the first time in November and sitting sixth as recently as January.

However, things have taken a turn for worse since kicking off 2021 with a stunning win over champions Liverpool.

While Saints have progressed into the FA Cup quarter-finals, their league form has nosedived with Sunday's loss to Brighton meaning Hasenhuttl's side have collected a meagre four points from 12 top-flight matches.

That run has seen Saints plummet to 14th in the table, still not safe from relegation, sitting seven points above the bottom three.

Asked how Ward-Prowse has responded to the first difficult spell in his role as captain, Hasenhuttl told the Daily Echo: "He reacts how I expect a captain to react.

"This is not so much off the pitch, much more on the pitch because that is where you win games, not off the pitch.

"You have to walk out there and always be the role model of what we are standing for.

"When you see him running and him fighting for everything in every game then this is what a captain should do.

"Not speaking in the dressing room or telling people how it works, but showing it on the pitch how it works. For me, this is how a captain should be."

Ward-Prowse is currently on a remarkable run of not missing games for Saints.

The 26-year-old has started every match across all competitions for the club so far this term, a feat he also achieved last season.

The last time Ward-Prowse did not play in a match for Saints was against West Ham in December 2018. Since then he has featured in 98 consecutive matches, completing the full 90 minutes on all-but-two occasions.

The midfielder has also in that time broken into the England squad.

Discussing Ward-Prowse's remarkable run of starts for Saints, Hasenhuttl said: "Knock on wood it stays like this!

"Because he’s absolutely the fittest player we have in our team. This is one of his biggest strengths.

"It doesn’t mean that he has not sometimes problems here or there. This is also there.

"But he lives very professional, he works very professional, he eats quite professional and I think this complete package leads you to playing every minute so far."