Adkins to call on new boys

Gaston Ramirez and Maya Yoshida are set for their first starts for Southampton in Saturday's clash with Aston Villa at St Mary's.

The pair came off the bench in last weekend's 6-1 thrashing by Arsenal with the latter replacing Jos Hooiveld, who is optimistic of returning from the calf injury which forced him off. Guly do Prado could return after being left out of the squad at the Emirates Stadium, while Jack Cork has overcome an ankle problem picked up in pre-season and will be looking to be involved at some point. Boss Nigel Adkins is remaining optimistic despite the fact the side have lost their opening four matches of the new Premier League season. And he hopes they can get off the mark against Paul Lambert's Villa on the back of the Gunners' mauling. He said: "There is a steely resolve about the players, there is a hunger. There is a lot of belief in the squad given that we have scored goals against both Manchester clubs and Arsenal. "We have had a good week on the training ground and there is positivity about what we are doing."