This article is part of Football FanCast's The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Before a ball had even been kicked in Southampton's clash with Everton on Saturday, we outlined just how important the next six games were for Ralph Hasenhuttl and the Saints.

Having already faced Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United, a run of fixtures including match-ups against the likes of Norwich, Newcastle, West Ham, Watford and Aston Villa will follow the 2-1 loss to the Toffees.

In the aforementioned article, we detailed how Hasenhuttl has a decision to make in regards to his outlook over the next few weeks.

Will the Austrian be conservative in his approach and opt for a heavily defensive five-man backline or three-man defence with wing-backs? Or, would he be more adventurous with a 4-3-3 or 4-2-2-2 system?

The former RB Leipzig boss has used all of the aforementioned systems at least once this season, and when the teamsheet came in at 14:00 on Saturday, his true mindset was revealed.

Hasenhuttl decided to go with a 3-4-3 formation, with Cedric and Stuart Armstrong at wing-back either side of Jannik Vestergaard, Jack Stephens and Jan Bednarek.

Against an Everton side who had conceded 17 goals in 11 games prior to kick-off and were also just three points above the Saints, Hasenhuttl had a real chance to adopt an attacking mentality in his side and take the game to Marco Silva's men, while also setting the tempo ahead of a potentially season-defining run of fixtures.

It wouldn't be harsh to say that the exact opposite mentality had been instilled against a side who were there for the taking - the Merseysiders had 24 shots to Southampton's four, which is seriously embarrassing for Hasenhuttl.

The St Mary's faithful can only hope that the Austrian begins to adopt an 'attack first, defend second' policy as soon as possible, with time running out to turn this wretched campaign around.

As the old cliche goes: attack is the best form of defence.

Given the fact that Southampton's defence is, incidentally, abysmal with a league-high 29 goals conceded, Hasenhuttl needs to be more adventurous.

In one of the first real chances for him to do so, however, the former RB Leipzig boss' mindset was evident in his team selection.