SAINTS interim Simon Rusk admitted Aaron Ramsdale is still a doubt to face Fulham but called for "belief that we can win" amongst his players.

The St Mary's side visit Marco Silva's Cottagers on Sunday and could be under new management amid the impending appointment of Ivan Juric.

Saints are set to complete the arrival of former Roma and Torino boss Juric but Rusk could still be in the dugout if the Croat's deal is not done in time.

Rusk insists he is preparing as normal for the game, with Saints sitting bottom of the Premier League and in desperate need of results.

"I took the training session this morning and the communication from the game the other day was to prepare and carry on with the team as normal," said Rusk.

"I don't know too much about the situation. It's an ongoing thing and I'm sure I'll get further clarification from above later on about what that looks like.

"I think we use words like belief and togetherness a lot, don't we, in football now, they get written on walls everywhere.

"But you have got to walk the walk with those things, you've got to walk the walk. It's about what actions are required to bring those words to life.

"I have touched on it briefly with the players that we can talk about togetherness but what's it going to look like on the pitch? What are we going to do?

"I think that's the big thing for me about. We've got that balance to strike about how we shut up the shop to a certain extent, but not be too negative.

"We want the stadium to come with us on the journey but we need to make sure we set right to win the game tactically," Rusk continued.

Saints defender Kyle Walker-Peters missed Wednesday's 2-1 Carabao Cup defeat to Liverpool, in which Cameron Archer scored his fifth goal of the season.

The Daily Echo confirmed his absence was only down to a minor knock, while Ramsdale was also in the stands as he nears his return from injury.

Rusk revealed: "Kyle trained today. He had a bit of tightness before the game against Liverpool and probably opted on the side of caution with that one.

"It has been good to see Kyle back out there today. Aaron has also been back in and involved but I think that's a conversation to have.

"He's not far away but I think whether he's available is probably still a conversation. It's looking positive and we're excited to have him back in the fold."