RALPH Hasenhuttl admitted his side “must be more clinical” but that he has faith in Saints’ forwards to take them up the Premier League table. 

Only skipper James Ward-Prowse and Armando Broja have managed to score two goals in the league for Saints, 10 games into the 2021-22 season.

Strikers Che Adams and Adam Armstrong have both hit one, along with Moi Elyounoussi and Tino Livramento who have also both contributed.

When Armando Broja was ruled out of the Watford visit last weekend through an ankle injury, it immediately sparked concerns with fans who wondered where the killer instinct would come from.

The Albanian international had just notched two in his first two starts in England’s top-flight, and looked set to be hitting a purple patch in confidence.

And although Saints were victorious in Hertfordshire, they could have, should have won by a few more with a number of top chances squandered by the aforementioned replacement strikers.

Broja’s fitness remains unknown going forward into Aston Villa on Friday, but speaking before last weekend Hasenhuttl identified the same concerns, albeit confident that it won’t be an issue.

“For a striker, goals are very important,” the Austrian boss said, of Adams and Armstrong’s confidence, "but in the away games, we have had a lot of opportunities.

“I remember how often we entered the box against Newcastle and Man City but didn’t find the right final decision. We could have been a little bit cooler.

“We will have a game where we find all of these positions and then I know we can score goals. When you are in the box like we have been, even on Tuesday (against Chelsea), there will always be opportunities to score.”

He predicted correctly: “I’m convinced that we will have the chances this weekend, but we must be more clinical and take them.”

Adams scored a superb effort to secure the win and make it two in two last week for him, after he had also equalised at Stamford Bridge, but has still only registered 15 in 86 in all comps for Saints.

Armstrong is still waiting for his first strike since 20 minutes into the opening day of the season at Goodison Park.

And asked if Broja has already shown that he has the ability to eclipse the pairing, Hasenhuttl responded: “There’s no question that he showed in the two Premier League games he started that he has the qualities we want to have.

“But very often in football, as soon as something is looking very pretty, an injury comes or a suspension. You have to reset the group and you never have time to think, ‘What if?’.

“It’s about working out what you can do and finding the best possible shape with the best mix of players up front to give you the extra quality to score. As we saw on Tuesday, without Broja we still have players who can score.

“We have to give them the trust and bring them into the position where we can make the final goal. This is the challenge for me and a challenge for the team.”