Following an impressive 3-0 win against Saint-Etienne in their previous pre-season friendly fixture on Saturday, Southampton fans would have been hopeful of another positive result when their team hosted Bundesliga outfit Augsburg at St Mary’s on Wednesday.

Saints secured an eighth-place finish in the Premier League last season while their German opponents ended the campaign in 13th and just one point above the bottom three.

However, things certainly didn’t go to plan for Mauricio Pellegrino in his first match in charge at St Mary’s with two first-half goals from Michael Gregoritsch giving the visitors a 2-0 advantage at the break.

If the Argentine boss expected an improvement after the interval he was disappointed as further goals from Ja-Cheol Koo and Raphael Framberger saw Augsburg secure a comfortable 4-0 win.

While of course you shouldn’t be too hasty following a heavy defeat in a friendly, it seems to be glaringly obvious that the Southampton side needs boosting with new players in certain areas to have any chance of competing for a European spot next season – which should be the aim.

Here are three positions the south coast need to strengthen in after the Augsburg humiliation…

Centre-back

With the situation regarding the future of Virgil van Dijk still far from being sorted and the Dutchman refusing to play and being kept in isolation away from the rest of the squad, Southampton have had Maya Yoshida, Jack Stephens, Jan Bednarek and Florin Gardos as their centre-backs in their pre-season friendlies to date.

While Stephens and Yoshida did a fine job in the second-half of last season, it seems to be clear that Saints need a new, dominant central defender whether Van Dijk stays or not if they are to challenge for Europe, with summer signing Bednarek and forgotten man Gardos not looking to have the quality needed for the Premier League.

Central midfield

Southampton were at their strongest when they had Victor Wanyama alongside Morgan Schneiderlin in the middle of the park a few seasons ago, and they don’t really seem to have replaced the effective Kenyan since he left for Tottenham a year ago.

While Romeu was Saints’ stand-out performer last term, he is more of a hybrid of the aforementioned duo as he can tackle but also has good technical ability, and he could do with a new partner with the likes of Steven Davis, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Jordy Claise failing to make the grade.

The south coast outfit are certainly missing that physical presence in the middle of the park and one that provides a barrier in front of the central defensive pairing.

Southampton became renowned for having one of the best defences in the Premier League but the 4-0 defeat against Augsburg will be a worrying sign ahead of the new campaign.

Right wing

Britain Football Soccer - Southampton v Swansea City - Premier League - St Mary's Stadium - 18/9/16
Southampton's Shane Long in action with Swansea City's Angel Rangel 
Reuters / Peter Nicholls
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Saints boss Pellegrino has preferred the 4-2-3-1 formation that has served the club so well in the past during pre-season and it has often been Shane Long that has been picked out wide despite making his career as a striker.

However, the Republic of Ireland international has struggled to make an impression there and with Nathan Redmond likely to continue on the left after linking up so well with Ryan Bertrand last season, Southampton must be looking to bring in an out-and-out right winger with James Ward-Prowse often featuring there last term.

Although they do have Sofiane Boufal and Dusan Tadic, it appears as though those two players are more effective in the attacking midfield role rather than out wide.

Do you agree, Saints fans? Let us know below.