Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl admits Will Smallbone had to be convinced about dropping into the B team for Saturday's win against Nottingham Forest.
Hasenhuttl is calling the move a “step forward" for the youngster.
"Yes, this was why we tried to convince him that it is important for him to play," Hasenhuttl told the Daily Echo.
"It is not a step back, it is always a step forward because he got game time and the chance to play.
"It is important, especially for the young players, to get their rhythm and as we know, we have a lot of games coming up now and it is quite possible that he will play for the first team.
“For that you will need game time, because only in a game will you get normal behaviour and rhythm and this is what you need."
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