Southampton defender Jose Fonte has blamed his side's poor start to the match for their 2-0 defeat to Leicester City on Saturday.

Riyad Mahrez opened the scoring for the Foxes in the seventh minute and notched his second of the match in the 19th to quickly put the game beyond the reach of Ronald Koeman's men.

The Saints have now lost three out of their last four games, and Fonte is adamant that his side has to improve to end their season on a high note.

"We started really badly and, in this league, playing against a team that is fighting for its life, we can't afford that," Fonte told the club's official website.

"We need to address that for the next two games and start them with a really fast tempo and by being aggressive because that's what we were doing before, and that's what we need – to get back to basics.

"We need to put in our heads that every single game in this division needs to be approached with the same attitude. We cannot afford to start as slowly and sluggishly as we did today. We need to be more aggressive, intense and up-tempo."

Southampton remain in seventh place in the Premier League table following their defeat to the Foxes.