Ralph Hasenhuttl bemoaned his side's second-half performance against Burnley.

The Saints boss also explained why he replaced Jan Bednarek with Jannik Vestergaard after his side's third successive defeat.

Bednarek had played every Premier League game under Hasenhuttl before injury meant he was unavailable at Crystal Palace last month.

But he was left out by choice for the first time by Hasenhuttl.

Admitting it was a difficult decision, the Saints boss highlighted Vestergaard’s ability to bring the ball out of defence.

He said: “I tried to bring us more into the position where we can play in the red zone [in front of the back four].

“In the first half we did it well, that was the way we made the equaliser and this was the plan - but the second half was not so good.”

After equalising through Danny Ings, Saints failed to test Clarets goalkeeper Nick Pope enough in the second half.

“We tried to create chances and had a few in the first half," continued Hasenhuttl.

"But the second half was too hectic, with no good passed behind the lines or in the red zone and that meant less pressure on the opponent.

“They had a better second half and we had a better first half, when we had a few good chances.

“We were not good enough to keep them in their half.

“We tried to stick to our game plan but it is not easy to play football against this team, you never get the chance to win the ball early.”

Kyle Walker-Peters made his debut at right back before being replaced by Michael Obafemi in the 73rd minute.

“It’s clear to see he [Kyle] still needs time to adapt to our game, which is not easy and will take time,” said Hasenhuttl, who switched to 3-4-3 with Obafemi’s introduction.

“We went to a back three as we needed to take more risks. Then we had a big chance for Pierre[Hojbjerg] but the shot was straight at the keeper.”

Burnley boss Sean Dyche admitted his side got a lucky break for the first goal. but praised their spirit and the resolve of striker Matej Vydra.

He said: “We got a goal out of nothing early on, it looks like a mistake from their player on the near post.

“They responded and they were the better side. We almost scored too early, we looked confused for 20 minutes.

“But we kept at it. At half-time I gave them a reminder of what it takes.”

On Vydra’s stunning winner, the Czech Republic international’s first goal for 17 months, Dyche said: “Fantastic finish. You need big moments to win games and that was a big moment in a tight game. He’s come in today and he’s worked ever so hard.

“This is a tough place to come, especially with their form lately. The weather was horrendous but at least both teams tried to win the game.”

Asked about VAR’s decision not to award Saints a penalty, Dyche added: “In my opinion it would have been incredibly harsh. He jumped and he tried to get his arm out of the way.

“The decision was sensible and I’m pleased with it.”