Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl played down the significance of their league position after they moved top of the Premier League for the first time in their history following a 2-0 win over Newcastle.

Che Adams gave Southampton an early lead and Stuart Armstrong wrapped up all three points in the 82nd minute to put Hasenhuttl’s men top of the table ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.

When asked how far Southampton can go this season, Hasenhuttl said: “I don’t know. Three wins in a row is what is important for us and let’s have a break now and then come back hopefully the same.

Bruce was particularly disappointed that his side could not match the performance level they produced against Everton.

“I think that’s the biggest frustration that I have,” he added. “We weren’t anywhere near.

“You ask yourself why. I think consistency is the big thing which upsets me the most because we didn’t look anything near tonight where we were five days ago.”