NATHAN Tella revealed an improved diet and keeping match sharp by playing for the B team were key to him battling his way back into Saints' starting line-up.

The talented 22-year-old was one of Saints' shining lights during the closing weeks of the 2020-21 campaign, netting his first goal for the club in a Premier League victory over Fulham at St Mary's in May.

However, despite looking lively during pre-season, including scoring in a win at Swansea, Tella's minutes at the start of this season were limited.

He featured for just 10 minutes of the club's first six Premier League matches, although did get a chance and scored in the 8-0 Carabao Cup thumping of Newport County.

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After starting against Chelsea in the league, another spell out the side followed.

But in the past three fixtures, Tella has been granted more opportunities in the side. The attacker came off the bench at half-time against Liverpool, before starting against Leicester City four days later.

Tella then kept his spot for Saturday's draw against Brighton, meaning the Stevenage-born ace played more minutes across eight days than in the previous two months.

"It’s nice," said Tella in an interview with the Daily Echo.

"I was quite frustrated at myself that I hadn’t played as much football as I would’ve liked. The fact that now the manager has picked me to play the last two games and I’ve been involved from the start is something which I’m thankful to him for.

"And I hope that there’s many more opportunities if I just continue to do the right thing."

Asked how tough it was to stay patient having ended last season so strongly, Tella added: "That’s football. Football is not always just going to be plain sailing.

"You’re going to have ups, you’re going to have downs. I have to be honest, this was a down for me.

"But at the same time I used it as a learning point, to learn what I need to do to get back into the team, what I need to do to start or what I need to do to come on.

"The team have helped me, the coaching staff have helped me, just kept being positive to me and helping me when I was struggling.

"But I’m thankful and now I’m back in the team, I just want to hopefully stay there for as long as I possibly can."

Daily Echo:

Discussing his relationship with boss Ralph Hasenhuttl during his spell out of the side, Tella said: "I felt like the main thing for me was I just wanted to play football. I felt like I just needed to be fit, because if I was to get the opportunity, I wanted to be able to play as long as I can and not feel like I’m tired and just focus on my football instead of my fitness.

"But of course he’s helped me, told me what I needed to do to get back into the team. I was able to go and play with the B team to go and get minutes and get confidence and he came and watched and told me he was impressed with how I did.

"Now I’ve played the last two games, so I feel like it’s worked."

Hasenhuttl has previously praised Tella's attitude for asking to go and play for the B team.

Despite having been named on the bench at Watford in the Premier League the day before, Tella played for Dave Horseman's side in a Premier League 2 clash against Aston Villa at Staplewood, scoring in the 4-0 victory.

"It was just more for minutes to be honest," said Tella when asked why he wanted to play for the B team back in October.

"I hadn’t played as much football as I perhaps would’ve liked to or perhaps would’ve hoped to by that point in the season.

"Obviously the B team are still a very good team so it was quite challenging and a competitive game.

"So the fact I was able to play in that game, I felt like I was able to do well.

"It was obviously good for the B team to pick up points, but then also good for myself. So that when I’ve got the opportunity to play, I’ve been able to feel fitter than perhaps I would’ve been if I hadn’t played in those games."

Daily Echo:

As referenced on a couple of occasions by Tella, working hard to keep himself fit has been a key factor in his return to the first team line-up.

And he explained how activities away from the training ground have also played a role, notably his new hobby of cooking.

Asked how he was getting on in the kitchen, Tella said: "It’s going all right! I can’t lie, I’ve experimented with a few dishes and they’ve gone better than I’ve expected.

"But I’ve only had to throw out one meal I’ve made!

"But no, it’s all been good and it’s helping me. I feel like my diet has improved as well, which is helping me.

"I live by myself. I used to live with Dan N’Lundulu, but obviously now he’s gone on loan I’ve been here by myself for the season."

But teammate N'Lundulu should not be expecting any of Tella's speciality dishes when he returns from his spell at Lincoln.

Tella said: "No, I’ll be quite selfish with my meals to be honest!

"I like my own cooking, I don’t know if he will. I’ll just keep it to myself."