Ruben Selles has revealed that his Southampton side are "not happy" to have only come away with a point against 10-man Manchester United on Sunday, but has praised his team's performance in the goalless draw at Old Trafford.
The Saints played with an extra man for almost an hour after Casemiro was shown a straight red card for a high challenge on Carlos Alcaraz in the 34th minute, but they were unable to convert a number of chances created in an entertaining contest in Manchester.
Goalkeepers David de Gea and Gavin Bazunu were both called into action to ensure that the spoils were shared, with the latter keeping his third clean sheet in the last four top-flight matches.
Southampton have now picked up seven points from a possible 12 available since Selles replaced Nathan Jones in the dugout, but they remain rooted to the foot of the Premier League table, albeit only two points adrift of safety.
Selles has acknowledged that there were plenty of positives to take from the draw at Man United, but expressed his disappointment to have not claimed maximum points.
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"We take the game in two parts and the first part is about the result. We are not happy, we talk about coming here to win the game," Selles told the Southern Daily Echo.
"We did our best to win the game so we are not happy with the point but really happy with the performance, we showed identity and principles in our game.
"We showed a team again playing together and wanting to get something so we're disappointed with the point but happy with the performance."
While Southampton should be commended for keeping a clean sheet away against Champions League-chasing Man United, the Saints have now failed to score in 10 Premier League games this season and have netted only 20 goals in total from 26 top-flight fixtures – the joint-lowest in the division along with Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
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Asked about the Saints' struggles in front of goal, Selles, said: "I think we see a process and we are growing it. We have not been a team that has scored many goals this season so we are working in the final third.
"We want to create better opportunities and put the ball in the back of the net. We have been doing that the last few weeks but sometimes it isn't easy in the final entry."
Southampton will now prepare for a run of four home fixtures in their next five, with Brentford – who beat the Saints 3-0 in February – paying a visit to St Mary's on Wednesday night.
Selles and co will then welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the South Coast three days later before travelling to the London Stadium to face fellow strugglers West Ham United after the international break on April 2.
Oliver Thomas
