SAINTS skipper James Ward-Prowse insists the “hunger” is within Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side to compete, following their “transition period” over the summer.

Saints welcomed 10 new arrivals into Staplewood Campus and also saw 12 players exit the club, including experienced heads such as Nathan Redmond, Oriol Romeu, Fraser Forster and Shane Long.

But having picked up seven points from their opening six league encounters with a youthful looking squad, England international Ward-Prowse believes the side has a “good building block” to kick on.

Asked to assess the campaign so far, the 27-year-old said: “I think it's been a positive start so far.

“I think considering the transition period that we went through earlier on in the summer with a lot of young players coming through and the experienced players leaving us, I think it's been a difficult balance to try and strike but I think the performances that we've put in and the results that we've had have been good.

“It's given us a good building block to build on now and I think there's confidence within the squad that we want to play games.

“That hunger is definitely there for us to do that.”

Saints continue their Premier League campaign with a trip to Aston Villa on Friday (8pm).