Planning paid off for Ralph Hasenhuttl after he revealed Saints spent their three-week break preparing for a surprise change in formation that delivered a vital 1-0 win against Brighton.

Jannik Vestergaard’s late absence with a groin injury meant a change of personnel for Hasenhuttl but not a change of shape.

The Saints boss confirmed the team had worked hard on playing his ultimate preferred formation of 4-2-2-2 rather than with three centre halves, and it paid off with a huge win at the Amex Stadium.

He said: “It was not the reason why because Jannik was out.

“I would have removed one centre back if necessary and we were working on this shape the whole three weeks because we knew against this opponent it would be the best shape.

“They didn’t give us a lot of chances to win the ball early because they play long balls but we were waiting for this one moment and we had patience to wait for this one moment.

“The moment came in the second half, they built up once and we had the chance to win the ball and it was the perfect situation we were waiting for.”

It was captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg who popped up with the winning goal, much to Hasenhuttl’s delight.

“I think it was a perfect moment from Reddie (Redmond) when he played the ball, a good deep run and then he has the coolness to finish perfectly,” he reckoned.

“You don’t get a lot of chances against this opponent. It’s always a very tight game here and you have to wait for this moment and then you have to be on it and know exactly what you have to do.”

Hasenhuttl was so desperate to celebrate with the fans at the final whistle that he briefly forgot to shake the hand of Brighton boss Chris Hughton, for which he apologised.

“Such a big feeling that I forget to shake the other manager’s hand and I have to apologise,” he said. “I always forget everything when the final whistle comes so please sorry. I was five seconds too late but then I came and shake the hand.

“For us in our situation it’s very important to take the wins and against a tight opponent three points are very important.

“It was massive because the whole side behind the goal was full with our fans.

“That is an amazing moment if you go there and celebrate with them.

“They take the long way here but then they can go back and have the nice weekend.”