RALPH Hasenhuttl declared “maybe we are not good enough” after Saints all-but buried their top-half ambitions with a late 2-1 defeat to mid-table challengers Crystal Palace.

Substitute Wilfried Zaha struck in added time after Oriol Romeu and Eberechi Eze goals had cancelled each other out earlier in each half.

The result sees Saints drop to 15th in the Premier League with just three matches to go – three points behind the top 10, but with others boasting games in hand.

Hasenhuttl delivered a scathing assessment of his side after a dull and disappointing display in the penultimate home contest of the season.

“You can see how we conceded the first goal, how easy we give it away,” Hasenhuttl said.

“We are in some positions at the moment lacking quality, this is not only for the players who have started but also for the players that are coming on.

“They are far away from the level they have shown and this is the reason why we are not good enough to play what we have shown.”

He continued: “It’s not bad if you have something like that (Zaha as a substitute), I must say I expect more from my guys coming on.

"This is what we are lacking at the moment, Broja is not the same like he has been a few months ago. This is the difference at the moment.

"It is very hard to take but this is the realistic thing that we are always coming into this situation that we can make this up and we fail. Maybe there is a reason for that, and maybe because we are not good enough.”

The Ivorian international snatched three points from St Mary’s with time running out in the contest, despite receiving the ball with back to goal and a defensive line behind him.

A slight touch off Mohammed Salisu helped guide the ball low beyond Fraser Forster, but Hasenhuttl lamented how the situation became a threat in the first place.

“We haven’t been exposed, we had fresh players on the pitch and we had a situation where a guy gets the ball around the box with four players around him and can still turn and shoot into the corner,” Hasenhuttl said.

“For me, this is not really a goal situation. Not something where I think, ‘this is getting dangerous’, and we concede a goal.

“I can speak about everything, the shape – the key is that we hardly win games when you concede two goals and that is a fact, and what is different from other home wins this season.”

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