SOUTHAMPTON manager Ralph Hasenhuttl accepts key players will continue to leave St Mary’s despite the club’s recent takeover.

Saints looked destined for a season of struggle after star striker Danny Ings was sold to Premier League rivals Aston Villa for about  £26 million last summer.

But, having gone seven top-flight games without success at the start of the campaign, Hasenhuttl’s men moved 13 points clear of the relegation zone – and above Villa – courtesy of Tuesday’s thumping 4-1 win over Brentford.

New owners Sport Republic last week bought an 80 per cent stake in the club and were in the stands to watch an emphatic start to the new era on home soil following Saturday’s behind-closed-doors FA Cup win at Swansea.

The arrival of the Dragan Solak-backed investment firm should allow Saints to move more quickly in the transfer market but Hasenhuttl admits it will remain difficult to keep hold of top talent.

“Yes, it is tough if you lose players in the summer, it is tough if you lose your top scorer,” said the Austrian.

“It takes a bit of time to build up a new team but this is the job you have to do if you want to be the manager of this club, because it will also happen in the future.

“This is normal in football, especially for us as a club.

“With all the promise we had after every season and then we lose our best players, you have to start again and again and again.

“But this is the way you have to work and – in the end – when you have the patience and the passion for this club, then you know that you’ll come back.

“It’s important that you keep on going and keep on finding solutions.”

Hasenhuttl said he is eager to keep 20-year-old Albania international Armando Broja beyond the end of the current campaign. The Chelsea loanee scored his fifth goal of the season in the win over Brentford.