Ronald Koeman bemoans lack of killer instinct

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has said that he was generally pleased with his side's performance in the 1-1 draw with Aston Villa but expressed his regret that the Saints were not able to take their chances.

Oriol Romeu's second-half strike cancelled out Joleon Lescott's opener as the home side were held to a draw by the Premier League bottom club, a result which saw Koeman's team slip to 12th in the table.

The Dutch boss said that he felt his side deserved to win, but accepted that it was their own failure to put the ball in the net which cost them the extra two points.

"Normally you do not sign for one point at home, but it is a point," he told BBC Sport. "We make it difficult for ourselves. We had three or four big chances to score and then we concede. Straight after half time we had some difficulties but they showed great character to come back and draw the game.

"We deserved more but OK, it is about scoring goals and creating chances. That was not the the case today. Last year we were 4-0 up against Villa [when Saints won 6-1] and we did not start as well as today! But we did not score and that is the detail in football.

"We played well in the second half, maybe it is a good result. We have had three or four defeats in a row and it is a knockback. You have to believe and we did that."

Koeman and his players now look ahead to next weekend's fixture, an away trip to Crystal Palace.