Rusk delivers verdict on Southampton squad ahead of Juric arrival

Rusk, who will take charge of Sunday's game against Fulham if Juric's paperwork has not been completed in time, revealed the squad is full of hard-working characters.

The under-21s boss was keen to stress he would not be "too conclusive" about the group due to his limited time working with them.

However, he explained that the squad have treated him with respect and are open-minded to his ideas.

He said: "I've obviously only been working with the group a couple of days. I don't think it would be right for me to be too conclusive about what I think this is.

Saints suffered a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in Simon Rusk's first game in charge. (Image: Andrew Matthews/PA) "My job was to, in the very short term, work with the players in terms of confidence, in terms of recouping from the game last Sunday against Spurs and preparing for the Liverpool game.

"What I can tell him, whoever comes into the role, is that they're a good bunch of guys. They want to do well. They've trained hard.

"The players have been open-minded about my ideas and how we deal with the current situation.

"I don't think I'd be too conclusive about what the group is or isn't, tactically, technically, or physically. But what I would say is I think they're a decent bunch of guys that want to do well."

Saints chiefs are hopeful that Juric can improve the defensive prospects of a team sat bottom of the Premier League table with a -25 goal difference.

Interim Saints boss Simon Rusk. (Image: Stuart Martin) In his final season at Torino, Il Toro ended the season with a goal difference of zero. Only two teams conceded fewer than the 36 they leaked.

Asked if he believes this Southampton squad is capable of improving defensively, Rusk said: "There's always room for improvement. I think the important thing, without a doubt, is belief.

"I think belief is important for the group at the minute. They have to believe that, bigger picture, they can get themselves back into a situation that they want to be in.

"Then they need to start looking at the immediate. The immediate focus is what we need to do to be defensively more solid or harder to beat or limit the opponent's opportunities.

"But equally, you've still got to find a way to score goals as well. I guess really the key is how we find the balance."