Southampton midfielder Dusan Tadic has questioned the club’s approach during their Europa League exit at the hands of Midtjylland.

The Saints were eliminated by the Danish champions 2-1 on aggregate after slumping to a 1-0 defeat at the MCH Arena on Thursday and they have now failed to win any of their last five matches in all competitions.

Serbia international Tadic impressed when coming off the bench in Denmark, but the 26-year-old was not pleased with the long-ball style his side adopted for the majority of the match.

He told reporters: “We started playing too many long balls. This is not our football. I understand that you can play too much direct sometimes. But I know this team. We like to play football on the ground.”

The former Twente player was disappointed that the south-coast club failed to secure a place in the group stage of the tournament, but he refused to blame the defeat on the fact the club have lost a number of key players during the summer.

He said: “We are very disappointed. I feel a little bit ashamed that we didn’t go through. We need to show more and play better as a team. It’s not good. We lost some important players, some other players come in and they need time to adapt.”

The likes of Nathaniel Clyne and Morgan Schneiderlin left the club during the close-season, whilst former loanee Toby Alderweireld opted to join Tottenham instead of returning to St Mary’s.