Hasenhüttl on solid Saints

Shutouts against both West Ham and Man City, coupled with a Carabao Cup victory over Sheffield United, have provided a sound footing to go in search of a first league win of the season this Sunday, Hasenhüttl said, with the time spent shaping his backline paying off in recent weeks.

Now, attention switches to the top end of the pitch, as the need for potency in the final third increases with every game that goes by without that elusive first win. Hasenhüttl is confident his side can find the "perfect situation" this weekend, and that should lead to a positive result.

"Yes, in the last two games we haven't scored," the boss began. "This is right. To be honest, we had in both games big chances. I must say that our game to the box was fantastic against Man City.

"We had 12 or 13 examples of scenarios where we could have done something more [in the final third]. We did it in the cup, we know that we can score goals.

"After last season, the main focus has been on our defensive work. This is important for me. It gives us more stability and more chances on having clean sheets.

"Wolves have an unchanged squad with a lot of quality also. They way they want to play football has not changed. They are always a very hard team to play against, this is what we know.

"We have had some tough home games against them. We should concentrate on our situation in the moment; we have a new squad, a good mentality in the moment, a lot of young players who are really pushing hard to play and to give us their qualities on the pitch.

"It's a very enjoyable moment for me to work with this team, hopefully we can be so strong that we find our first win. There has been a few things missing, but when everything comes together in the perfect situation, hopefully this is on the weekend, yes."