NATHAN Tella insisted “I’ve always felt confident I can score” after he netted a fourth goal of the Championship season.

It looked like a winner had come just after half-time for Burnley away at Cardiff, but the home side levelled through Callum Robinson deep in added time.

Tella, 23, had scored three in his first four matches at second division level, adding the fourth on his ninth league appearance for the Lancashire outfit.

Tella failed to add to his first Premier League goal for Saints, which came towards the end of the 2020-21 campaign, and was allowed to find regular minutes this year.

Ralph Hasenhuttl – whose side are struggling for goals themselves – admitted the decision to allow him to leave was not easy but essential for his development.

"I’ve always felt confident that I can score, it’s just about me getting into the positions," Tella, who signed a new Saints contract to 2025 in January, explained.

"The way this team plays I feel there are many opportunities for me to get into the positions to find goals, on the left, down the middle, on the right.

"Whether it’s from a cross, or from a switch of play, I just feel like I’m getting more confident in front of goal. It was something I’d been talking about this week. Some of the coaches have been saying I need to get to the back post more.”

He added: “When the ball came in from the right-hand side, I was there on the back post and luckily Ian (Maatsen) was there on the follow-up. Obviously, I was in a good position just to tap it in, so thanks to Ian for the assist. I was on my toes today."

"I feel like I’m learning more game by game, not all games are going to be amazing, not all games are going to be bad but different bits of the experience I’ll take with me on the journey.

"The thing is with the Championship, we’ve got another game on Wednesday. It’s not enough time to mope around, we need to react for Wednesday."

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