Ronald Koeman has backed Saints to start scoring again as they aim to avoid an unwanted record at St Mary’s tonight.

The club has never gone four successive home games without a goal since being elected to the Football League and need to find their shooting boots once more to ensure that doesn’t happen as they welcome Crystal Palace.

Saints are still riding high in the table but want to get back to winning ways immediately to boost their hopes of rounding off a brilliant campaign by securing European football.

Koeman believes Saints are still doing the right things and creating chances, and that goals will come.

He said: “I think it’s a lot about down in the scoring in the game. I think 90 per cent of when we scored the first goal we won the games. That means for us it is a comfortable situation.

“But if we are down in the result then it makes it difficult.

“We still try, we still have the spirit to score, but the opponents make it very difficult for us and then you need to be patient, then you need quality in the last part of the attacking, and players need totally confidence and we are a little bit struggling in that, but still we are creating chances.

“We had chances against Swansea, we had good, big chances against West Ham, we had big chances against Liverpool. We had not a lot – maybe one or two good chances for Pelle – in the last game, but we are creating, and that’s positive, but everybody lives, attackers are living by scoring goals and if they don’t score they’re afraid, lack a little bit of confidence.

“Then I think it’s important to make it clear for them and, of course, we have now real competition, because most of the players are back, a good freshness at the moment, and you can change, of course, because everybody has to be effective in his function, in his role in the team.”

Koeman could make changes for the visit of Palace, managed by former Saints boss Alan Pardew, with an almost full strength squad from which to select from as they hunt more goals.

The last time Saints went three home league games without a goal was under Ian Branfoot in 1993 when they lost to West Ham, Ipswich and QPR.

The last time Saints went four Premier League games in a row, home and away, without a goal was under Steve Wigley in September and October 2004. That was part of a run of just one goal in six games – and that came during a 2-1 home loss to Newcastle.

Of the current crop it has been Graziano Pelle who has been most under attack as his goalless drought extended to ten Premier League games but Koeman is backing his stars.

“I don’t like to focus on one player,” he said.

“I think we need more players in a better shape in our attacking and of course strikers they live by scoring goals and it’s not always about scoring goals in my opinion, it’s also about the performance of the striker and what he’s doing when we like to press our opponent, he’s working and doing everything we expect, and then we look to the goals the player scored.

“It’s a difficult time for him but he’s an experienced player and he has to show his qualities.

“He will know that and I know the player very well and he needs the support and I am a coach to give all the players support to play better in an attacking way.”