SAINTS boss Ralph Hasenhuttl admits "I changed my opinion about Burnley" over recent seasons, ahead of Saturday's clash at St Mary's.

Sean Dyche's Clarets head to the south coast still seeking a first Premier League win of the season.

Having failed to get the better of Burnley in any of his first three matches against them, Hasenhuttl's Saints completed the double over the Lancashire outfit last season.

Discussing the challenge posed by Dyche's men this weekend, Hasenhuttl said: "We know that against Burnley, all games have been very tough and very tight in the last years.

"We are facing here a team with a manager that is the longest-serving manager in the Premier League over nine years now I think he was manager of Burnley. So a very, very automatised team, with very good habits and always hard to beat.

"In my opinion, it is getting more difficult every year. The teams are getting stronger every team is getting stronger, and winning in the Premier League gets more difficult every year and so this is the challenge definitely but this makes it also interesting for every manager here.

"The different challenges, Burnley have a completely different way of playing like Leeds or Arsenal or whatever.

"So, it's very interesting, I can say that also preparing for the games is always very interesting because every time there's something new, you can always switch immediately and it's also interesting for the players who always do something new and this is good."

Hasenhuttl added: "I must say I changed my opinion about Burnley in the past two or three years, extremely. I thought in the beginning it was a team that only kicks long and doesn’t want to play football.

"I think if you let them play, they definitely can do it. They have very good pressing. They have been very brave this season with their pressing also.

"I must say that they also developed their game. This is what you can see and what is necessary in the Premier League, to also play a little bit more football by yourself, otherwise it is difficult. They play in a very direct and forward-oriented way.

"The goals they score are typical for them. It is always good when you do what you can do in a perfect way. This can be successful and most of the time was successful. That’s the reason why were have to be very aware about their qualities.

"We have also shown our qualities, especially in the last season when we beat them twice. It was the first time we had won against them.

"That doesn’t mean it is always normally now a win, but we have proven we can do it against them and this is the goal for the weekend."