Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse has called on his teammates to show character in order to get out of their current poor spell of form.

The Saints have lost six of their last eight Premier League games to drop to 13th in the table, with their first match of 2016 ending in a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Norwich City at Carrow Road.

Alexander Tettey got the only goal of the game shortly after Victor Wanyama had been sent off for the visitors, but Ward-Prowse believes that his side can learn from the defeat.

"Victor is an aggressive player and he likes to get around the pitch. It was unfortunate for him that he got sent off," Ward-Prowse told the club's official website.

"It's always difficult, but we coped well after the goal. It was just one of those moments and to be fair, the guy took the goal very well. It was a real test of character out there and we can learn a lot from that.

"We have to learn from it - it's a new year and a new start, but it wasn't the ideal start. It's a test of character to come through the bad times."

Southampton host Crystal Palace in the FA Cup next weekend before taking on Watford in their next Premier League game.