Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that he is happy with the progress of his young side and has backed them to improve even further in the second half of the season.

Pochettino's side enjoyed a fine start to the season, finding themselves in the top four, though they have now dropped to ninth in the table after just one win in their last eight games.

Despite the poor run of form, Pochettino is optimistic for the New Year as his younger players continue to develop as the season goes on.

"I think the evolution is correct, it's positive. We're on the right path. The team has many young players - we're a very young side," the Argentine told reporters. "The philosophy of the team, the style of the team has changed ever since we took over. The team is still growing and maturing.

"We will see at the end of the season how far we can go. I think sometimes we forget the main point is that, for example yesterday (the 2-1 defeat to Everton), we had four or five players that were 17, 18, 19 years old and are starting to come into the side and starting to get their first team experience.

"We were facing a team that already has experienced players while we're still nurturing and developing young talent. I think we sometimes lose sight of that and tend to think ahead of ourselves. The focus is always to win the next game and keep on growing and maturing as a team."

Southampton face title-chasing Chelsea on New Year's Day.