NATHAN Redmond believes the international break can act as a catalyst for Saints’ season.

The tricky winger was one of 12 senior players at Southampton to not receive the call-up to their national side, despite them all featuring regularly this campaign.

Instead, they were left to ponder a run of three Premier League defeats in a row which started with Liverpool and Wolves before the 3-0 loss they suffered at home to Chelsea prior to the break.

But Redmond thinks that the work done at Staplewood over the last 10 days has the potential see a change of fortune.

The 24-year-old said: “I think last time we had an international break was after the Crystal Palace win and someone said it was the wrong time to have one because we were on a good run.

“But maybe this one has come at a good time.

“With the boys that have been here, we’ve been working extremely hard to put things right leading up to this weekend.

“And I’m sure the international boys who have been coming back these last few days have been getting to grips with what the game plan will be for Bournemouth.

“Although, we can do all the training in the world during the week, but what matters is doing it on gameday.”

Bournemouth have had their best start to a Premier League season since they were promoted in 2015.

They have picked up five wins in their opening eight games which sees them sitting just behind Tottenham in the spot for a Europa League place.

But Saints have fond memories against the Cherries in recent times, beating them 2-1 at St Mary’s last April to ease the pressure of relegation.

However, Redmond is all too wary about the danger Bournemouth can cause in attack.

He added: “They’ve had a good start to the season.

“I think Bournemouth have a team and shape, especially with Callum Wilson and Josh King, that allows them to exploit their pace.

“We have to know what to expect and will have to deal with it when it comes.

“I think in their first couple of games they had a similar situation to us.

“They had four put in against them at Burnley, which shows the strength and depth of the Premier League.

“But it’s going to be a tough game, there haven’t been any easy games against them since I’ve been here.

“We need to look to nullify Bournemouth’s threats and expose their weaknesses.

“The work we have been doing over the international break and since the international boys came back will hopefully put is in good stead.”

Mark Hughes’s side are in a precarious position after eight games and need to start picking up points quickly if they are to avoid another season-long battle to beat the drop.

With winnable games against Bournemouth and Newcastle coming up, it’s a chance for Saints to start climbing the table.

And Redmond admitted that he doesn’t fancy banking on other teams to dig Southampton out of trouble again come the end of the season.

“It’s massively important to get some points,” Redmond added.

“Six months ago, we were in a position where we had to fight for our lives.

“We have probably never run so much during games.

“We don’t want to be in a position where we are relying on teams to win for you, it’s a horrible position to be in.

“The more you do earlier in the season means that it becomes easier towards the end.

“We don’t want to get in a dogfight at the end of the season.”