It proved to be as miserable as it was a dramatic weekend for Southampton after they dropped into the Premier League relegation zone following defeat by Cardiff City.

The Saints appeared to scrape a draw in the St Mary’s clash on Saturday after Jack Stephens’ stoppage time equaliser, only for Cardiff to then immediately retake the lead and grab a winner.

It leaves the Saints in the bottom three and out in the cold in terms of Premier League safety but boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has found a way to bring warmer climes to the team.

Southampton have already started their warm weather training camp in Tenerife

The players were immediately put through their paces on Monday for the five-day trip

Michael Obafemi controls the ball during training as the Saints escaped the British south coast

Southampton’s third round exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Derby County now means they will be without a fixture for over two weeks, offering the chance for a warm trip away from the south coast to Tenerife.

But Saints players can forget any notion of a short holiday, as Hasenhuttl stated that the five-day trip that started on Monday was about ‘hard work’ and getting tactical plans in place ahead of trying to keep his side in the top flight.

‘What we now try to do is to use this time for hard work and to get perfectly prepared for the last two or three months that we have to go,’ Hasenhuttl told the club’s website.

‘We have prepared videos for every player about his positive things and his negative things and to show them what we are demanding more and to show them what was good until now. 

Ralph Hasenhuttl plans to use the time to give a performance review of his stars

James Ward-Prowse reaches out to control the ball during the first day of training

Shane Long and Jannik Vestegaard are put through their paces in the Tenerife trip

‘A little bit of feedback is very important for them, and therefore we need a lot of time, but I think they appreciate that and they need that to make their next step and therefore it is perfect to go there and have time together.

‘It is also partly about the better weather conditions when you want to train tactical things on the pitch, because then you can rest for two or three minutes and you can explain more without catching a cold, and you can work in a good atmosphere.

Southampton return to action on February 24 when they face a testing trip at Arsenal as they bid to extend their seven-year stay in the top flight. 

The warm weather trip comes with Southampton stuck in the Premier League’s bottom three

The Saints hope the sun is not setting on their current seven-year stay in the top flight

A piece of memorable advice given by Gordon Banks to a promising young goalkeeper has come to light following the death of England’s 1966 World Cup winner.

The former Stoke and Leicester City star died at the age of 81 on Tuesday after losing his battle with kidney cancer. 

Tributes flooded in following the announcement but perhaps the most touching of all was a copy of the guidance Banks gave to the son of former Leicester Mercury journalist Lee Marlow.

A piece of advice given by Gordon Banks to a promising young goalkeeper has come to light

Lee Marlow, formerly of the Leicester Mercury newspaper, published Banks’ advice to his son

Marlow tweeted a picture of the letter, adding: ‘I interviewed Gordon Banks when I was at the Mercury. I told him my lad played in goal.

‘I didn’t put his response in the story but it was so lovely I transcribed it and gave it to my son. It’s still on his bedroom wall today. God bless you, Gordon Banks x’.

In the letter, titled ‘Goalkeeping advice from Gordon Banks to Lucas Marlow’, England’s 1966 hero offered his guidance on how Lucas could become a successful goalkeeper.

He wrote: ‘Hello Lucas, your dad told me that you want to be a goalkeeper? Good lad. We always need good goalkeepers. Here’s some advice from me…

‘First of all, you have to work hard. Being a goalkeeper is not easy. But the more you play, the more you practice, the easier it gets.

‘The more you play, your eyes will get better at spotting the angles. You will begin to know where the ball will go. This is called anticipation – great goalies have good anticipation.

Legendary 1966 World Cup winner Banks (yellow top) passed away at the age of 81 on Tuesday

Banks makes his famous save from a downward header by Pele in the 1970 World Cup

‘The eyes pick up the direction of the ball, how it floats through the air, and send messages to your brain and then to your hands. Keep practicing – and you’ll get better and better at this.

‘Always know where you are in the goal, narrow the angles down, make it as hard as possible for the striker to score. Play with a smaller ball. Playing with a bigger ball will seem much easier if you’ve been used to playing with a smaller one.

‘Play games like table tennis – that will help sharpen up your reflexes and your hand-eye co-ordination. Throw a tennis ball against the wall and catch it.

‘And be brave – you have to be brave to come out for crosses, or dive at the feet of a centre forward trying to score past you. And be brave, too, if you lose or make a mistake.

‘We all make them – I made some mistakes – but I never let anyone see that I was upset. Good luck Lucas.’     

Banks makes a flying save while playing for Leicester in 1966 as a sell-out crowd watches on

Banks holds onto the ball during the 1966 World Cup Final as England beat West Germany 4-2

Banks is remembered for what is widely considered the greatest save of all time when he tipped a header from Pele over the bar at full stretch in a match with Brazil at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.

Pele himself famously yelled ‘goal’ as the ball left his forehead and stood open-mouthed as Banks somehow reached the ball as it went past him and flicked it away for a corner.

Banks, who was controversially never handed a knighthood and was forced to retire aged 34 after losing an eye in a car crash, endured several battles with kidney cancer and in recent months had been undergoing gruelling spells of chemotherapy.

Banks passed away with family at his side after his health deteriorated significantly in recent weeks and he is survived by his wife Ursula, who he met on national service in Germany in 1955, and their three children Julia, Robert and Wendy.

His family said in a statement on Tuesday: ‘It is with great sadness that we announce that Gordon passed away peacefully overnight. We are devastated to lose him but we have so many happy memories and could not have been more proud of him’.