NATHAN Redmond’s only focus is on Saints - even though he was touted for an England call-up.

Like James Ward-Prowse, the forward has not played for England since winning his only cap away to Germany two years ago.

Redmond has also been back to his best since Ralph Hasenhuttl’s appointment last December, scoring six goals in his last 15 Saints matches.

But while Ward-Prowse has been rewarded with an England recall, Redmond has been overlooked, with manager Gareth Southgate preferring to call-up Callum Hudson-Odoi instead.

“I’m just thinking about Southampton at the moment,” reflected the 25-year-old, who played for England at every age group from U16-U21.

“When I came back at the start of the season my ambition was to just enjoy my football again and help this football club get as many wins as possible.

“That’s still my focus because they were my goals at the start of the season. Until I hit my goals for the season, I won’t be thinking about [England] because Southampton are the most important thing to me.

“Last year, when I wasn’t playing so well, nobody was talking about stuff like that. I’ve improved a lot since last season and I’m a lot more focused and I want to keep maintaining that.”

It’s this level of focus that has seen Redmond help Saints in their battle against relegation this season. The attacker has refused to get carried away with his form as he knows how quickly things can change.

He’s previously admitted that he lost all his confidence last season, which is why he doesn’t take anything for granted.

When asked whether not getting carried away is a reason behind his impressive form, Redmond responded: “It’s working for me right now. I’m content with life off the pitch, but on the pitch, there are a lot of things I want to achieve personally and with this football club.

“I’ve got a great set of teammates here helping me try to achieve that and also a manager that’s on the same wavelength as me in that aspect as well.”

Saints are currently two points above the relegation zone with eight games remaining. 

Redmond, who helped them escape the drop last season, is confident they’ll be fine again. 

He added: “It’s a different kind of pressure to when you are trying to perform in a cup final or a cup tie. All the pressures are different.

“I think we’re in a better position to deal with things this time compared to last season because we went into the last five games thinking ‘This is do or die’. 

“This time we still have a lot of time to pick some points up before it gets to that stage.”