BOSS Ralph Hasenhuttl does not regret sending youngster Jake Vokins out on loan and insisted: “This is not a problem.”
The 20-year-old left-back on Friday completed a switch to League One Sunderland until the end of the season.
Ryan Bertrand remains the first-team left-back for the St Mary’s side, who could be without nine players due to injury for tomorrow’s trip to Manchester United (8.15pm).
The Saints boss, who has filled the majority of his bench with young players in recent weeks, saw Ibrahima Diallo, Theo Walcott and Oriol Romeu all limping off in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa.
Asked whether he was still happy with the decision to send out Vokins, Hasenhuttl said: “Yeah this is not a problem. In this position we still have Will Ferry as an alternative on the bench if we need to.
“It looks that Jannik (Vestergaard) and Sali (Mohammed Salisu) are coming back in one or two weeks, so this is important when you have more alternatives also in the back four.
“Kyle (Walker-Peters) is also not a big injury.
“Hopefully they are getting better, especially the defensive part – and then we have more alternatives.”
Vokins’s most recent appearance for Saints came in a 3-1 home defeat to Arsenal last week, where he deputised for the suspended Bertrand.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel