Southampton Boss Mauricio Pellegrino Praises His Teams Spirit Following FA Cup Victory

Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino has praised his team's spirit following their FA Cup fifth round win against West Brom on Saturday.

The Saints beat the Baggies 2-1 at the Hawthorns on Saturday to progress into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, and speaking after the game Pellegrino praised the spirit that his team showed during the match, as quoted by the club's official website.

“We feel happy for many reasons,” he said. “As a team, the spirit that we showed today was really good from the beginning until the end.

“West Brom were looking to play long, put us under pressure and make the match into a physical battle but we competed very well especially at set-pieces, even scoring one ourselves.

“You have to be focused from the beginning and that was one of many small details that made the difference here.

(You may also be interested in West Brom 1-2 Southampton: Saints See Off Late Baggies Fight-Back to Progress to Quarter-Finals)

“Until the end we tried to make them think about our attacking threats - like Manolo and Josh from the bench - instead of us worrying about theirs and a possible equaliser; it nearly paid off because we were unfortunate not to score a third late on.”

Despite their league position, currently 18th, the Saints have only conceded once in the FA Cup this season, scoring four goals in the process. 

Up next for the Saints is a tricky trip to Turf Moor to face Burnley, and with the Saints still in a relegation battle only three points will do against the league's surprise team of the season.