Harwood-Bellis laments damaging first half

After a promising start, the visitors switched off and allowed Evanilson to round off a quickly taken free-kick, before Dango Ouattara and Antoine Semenyo punished Russell Martin’s side before the break.

Making three changes at the halfway stage, Saints rallied after the restart as Harwood-Bellis scored his first Premier League goal, but that was as good as it got which left the defender to call upon the players to take ownership of the winless start to the campaign.

“I thought the reaction to the [first] goal [was] horrific, not good enough at all from all of us. I thought second half we came out and did what the manager asked us to do ever since he's been here. And it shows that we hurt teams when we do what he says.

“There's been times this season when we do do what he says and we play how he wants us to play and we do it with intensity and courage and we can hurt anyone. But as I said, the first half is not a reflection of the manager or any of the staff. That's on us as players and we’ll come together and sort that out.

“We started well I thought. We create a bit. We were playing and moving and then the reaction to the goal is just not good enough. We cannot react like that. The courage goes and we stop playing, stop moving. And it just shows in this league you get punished, you take your foot off the gas or you go a little bit inside yourself, you get punished and that's what happened.

“It's hard because we’ve got really good characters in there. We’ve obviously lost games, but to put a performance in like that, I don't associate that with this group, just because we have got really good characters and good leaders in there.

“I think that's shown in the second half that we can come together and put a performance out. Obviously trying to get the three goals, we've got the one, but I think that shows that we can react to it and we've got to do it again on Saturday. I'm sure we will because it's important.”