Saints Under 21 Coach Martin Hunter hopes his players learn some important lessons from last night's heavy defeat to Sutton United.
The U21s trailed to the Blue Square South outfit by three goals at the break, with another strike midway through the second period compounding their misery.
"I'm disappointed and I'm very angry," Hunter told Saints Player after the game.
"That's nothing like the Southampton teams' way of playing, so some of the young players need to get streetwise quicker.
"They've beaten us fairly and squarely, and it's very disappointing. We've got a lot of hard work to do.
"We've definitely got to get better than that. This is Sutton United against Southampton, so there are a lot of things we need to work on.
"Coming to Sutton United is like an FA Cup game – they were up for it and they've got some experienced players. We didn't deal with the situation.
"As the First Team do, we'll debrief the game and sort the problems out."
The Under 21s will play one more friendly – a behind-closed-doors fixture against Brighton – before the Barclays U21 Premier League season begins away at Sunderland in ten days' time.
"We'll keep working on the same things, and tighten things down – particularly defensively," said Hunter.
"It'll be a different game against Brighton because they are a passing team, so that'll cause us other problems. Between now and then, there'll be plenty of preparation."
Of the newly-created U21 Premier League, Martin added: "It's a great step forward for us.
"It's a great time for the Club, and it'll be good for these young players to pit their wits against the best Under 21 players in the country.
"We're going to have to travel overnight and stay in hotels, but that's all part of developing to get them into the First Team – that's what we're all about."
To see footage from last night's match and a full interview with Martin Hunter, head to Saints Player by clicking here.
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