Ralph Hasenhuttl refuses to comment on Danny Ings future

He said: "It's a topic which doesn't make sense to discuss here, we are in negotiations with the player and there's nothing more to say about that.

"Any rumours out there it's not for me to comment on. It's always coming from the same direction and it doesn't make sense to comment.

"He is an important player for us, he wants to stay with us. It's not a reason to speak about it in the media."

Saints go to Wolves in the FA Cup fifth round on Thursday – ahead of facing them in Southampton on Sunday.

Hasenhuttl's men have lost four straight games in the Premier League – including last week's 9-0 defeat by Manchester United.

"The last two cup wins are not really recognised with our negative run in the Premier League," he said.

"Wins in the cup are nice to have but don't really count sometimes I feel. It's a competition we are still part of and we want to go as far as possible in. For us it's a very important game."

Hasenhuttl will be without Takumi Minamino at Molineux – he is unable to play under the terms of his loan from Liverpool – after his goalscoring debut in Saturday's 3-2 defeat at Newcastle.

Theo Walcott (thigh), Michael Obafemi (muscle) and Will Smallbone (knee) are also out but Kyle Walker-Peters is expected to be available after a quad problem.

The head coach added: "I was hoping he (Minamino) would give me this type of quality. It wasn't an easy one with a lot of rain, it wasn't the best turf for him to show his quick play.

"He showed he can score and help us here in the number 10 position. He is not allowed to play but then I will have him back on Sunday and in good shape."