HE’S GOT THAT LOVINGS FEELING Striker Danny: I feel adored

DANNY INGS has claimed love from his fans and teammates is lifting Southampton up where they belong.

The former England striker netted his 12th Premier League goal of the season to salvage a draw against Crystal Palace – and keep Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team unbeaten over Christmas.

Ings has now scored half of Saints’ top-flight goals this season and eight in his last eight starts. And the ex-liverpool forward (above), who suffered with a hamstring injury last season, said: “I’m here and enjoying my football again.

“I feel absolutely loved by the fans and my team. So, all of that helps altogether.

“This season has been very up and down for us.

But we’ve come a long way in our last three games and that’s the level we need to be at. Those are the demands we’ve got and we have on ourselves.”

Saints went eight games without a win in the autumn and suffered the

9-0 home humiliation to Leicester.

But Ings’ scoring streak – and rediscovering the high-energy pressing game which saved them last season – now sees them four points clear of the drop zone.

The Eagles took the lead through a 50th-minute header from James Tomkins, but Ings pounced on a sloppy pass from

Martin Kelly after 74 minutes to score with Saints’ first shot on target.

“I try to look out for defensive mistakes, I’ve got quite a few of them this year where I’ve been switched on,” Ings said.

Hasenhuttl (left), who rested his top scorer for the Boxing Day win at Chelsea, said: “The strange thing is that he is always the person in that situation. It means he feels and smells where the opponent can get problems or into trouble.

“It is not a coincidence. And you have to be calm to score in this moment.”

Midfielder James Wardprowse said: “He is so sharp around the box and he pounces quickly. It is a great run of form for him and hopefully it continues.”

Only late saves from Vicente Guaita from sub Moussa Djenepo and a Ward-prowse free-kick denied Saints a second home win of the season.

They have seven points from the last three games, but have still to keep a clean sheet at St Mary’s, with Tottenham up next on New Year’s Day.

“I can’t put my finger on our home form, it’s just one of those things,” added Ward-prowse. “There is an expectancy at home, maybe that is a factor.

“We try not to think about that. We just keep focused on ourselves and try to make sure we approach each game with a good attitude and mentality. If we do that, we give ourselves a good chance to get results.”

JAMES MCCARTHY blamed VAR and the failure to keep second-half possession for Palace dropping two points. Max Meyer had a 15th-minute goal disallowed when Wilf Zaha’s arm was ruled offside in the build-up. Palace midfielder Mccarthy said, adding: “We thought it was a legitimate goal. It was disappointing because we had celebrated the goal.” Southampton had not registered a shot on target until Danny Ings seized on Martin Kelly’s error to cancel out the opener by James Tomkins (above). “In the second half especially, we didn’t really keep the ball as much as we wanted,” admitted Mccarthy. “We invited the pressure on to us.”