Southampton form 'not fun or enjoyable' - Still

Will Still has won three of his nine games in charge of Southampton

Southampton's good performance but 2-1 defeat by Liverpool in their Carabao Cup third-round meeting at Anfield is a perfect example of their current problems, according to boss Will Still.

The Saints hit the woodwork early in the tie against the Premier League leaders, before a mistake by goalkeeper Alex McCarthy handed the home side the lead. Liverpool went on to win with a late goal from Hugo Ekitike after Shea Charles had equalised for Still's side.

"We've done a lot of really positive things in the first half, hit the crossbar, somehow missed the goal and they go up the other end and we've put it on a plate for them, which is frustrating but a reflection of the direction we're going in," the head coach told BBC Radio Solent.

"We're consistently inconsistent, which is annoying. We're conceding too many goals, too cheaply, so we need to urgently sort that out."

Still made nine changes to his side from the one which was beaten 3-1 at Hull City in the Championship last weekend and was encouraged by the performance.

"The players who were out there stood up, made themselves accountable and put in an interesting performance," he added.

"I'm disappointed for them they couldn't reap the rewards of a good performance but it's where we're at.

"It's not fun, it's not very enjoyable, but we need to keep believing in it, hammering away, keep plugging away, because that's the only way it's going to work."

Southampton return to action at home to Championship leaders Middlesbrough on Saturday, 27 September (15:00 BST).