Ralph Hasenhuttl has warned Cardiff that they will be facing a completely different Saints team this weekend.

Hasenhuttl’s first game in charge ended up in a 1-0 defeat to the Bluebirds at the beginning of December.

But the Austrian claims that even he wouldn’t want to play his team following this week’s training.

Hasenhuttl said: “We lost the first game 1-0 in Cardiff. I don’t know if they were the better team in this game, but they were cleverer and smarter.

“After one training session with the team, this match was a little bit early. We’ve had more time to work now and we want to show how we have developed our game.

“We want to show how we now know how to play against this team.

“I think the first one was a very tight game and now we have the chance to take more than a few good words after some intensive games.

“We should really be focused because we know we gave two points away against Burnley in the last minute, and that hurts a lot.

“I think the reaction of the game will be a very, very focused one.

“To be honest, I don’t want to play against my team at the weekend because we are hot.”

Saints were hit with an injury blow ahead of Saturday’s match with Cardiff, as it was confirmed that Danny Ings will be sidelined for two-three weeks with a hamstring injury.

The striker limped off the pitch in the 1-1 draw with Burnley, but Hasenhuttl is backing Charlie Austin to fill the void.

Austin came close to leaving Saints at the end of the January transfer window but opted to stay and fight for his place.

And Hasenhuttl admitted that he’s thrilled the 29-year-old is still as the St Mary’s side.

“I’m happy he stayed here because he can always score for our team and we will need him and his scoring quality in the last months of the season.

“I’m happy he is here as we now have the injury of Danny Ings, one striker less in the attacking zone, so we need him.

“It’s good he is back after his injury because he also had a little ankle injury that kept him from playing against Crystal Palace. Against Burnley, he was in the squad and he is still an option for this weekend.”