Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has urged his team to take their ‘FA Cup quality’ into the Premier League.
They reached the semi-finals of the cup competition on Saturday with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Bournemouth.
Moussa Djenepo opened the scoring with a nice finish after being set up by Nathan Redmond.
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The English winger then doubled Southampton’s lead just before half time with a great strike past Asmir Begovic.
Redmond made it a brace in the 59th minute with a composed finish, effectively ending the tie.
Reacting to the match, Hasenhuttl told BT Sport (via BBC Sport): “We had a good week to be honest. The mindset was important today. We needed to show what we wanted to do. I could feel all week the guys were focused. This is important I think.
“It’s important to keep the tempo high immediately. We tried to play quick. The first goal we scored was disallowed but it didn’t affect us. We kept going forward and stretched them. It was wonderful play and deserved.
“I am very, very pleased. We said in general we want to focus on the FA Cup. But maybe I should have said we focus on both things [FA Cup and the Premier League]! We have done a good job with the performances so far [in the FA Cup].
“It would be perfect if not so many players went to international games so we can work on these things. This win helped us get a little bit more quality in our game but when the Premier League returns we will have to show our quality again.”
Speaking about star player Redmond, Hasenhuttl continued: “He’s had a difficult year with his performances and injuries. I am hoping this game gives him so much lift so he shows more often what quality he has. It’s important for our game.”
The victory puts Southampton in a good position to win their first FA Cup since 1976. The competition has given them a distraction from their Premier League form, which has seen them slide down to 14th place.
Their next match is against Sean Dyche’s Burnley on April 4.
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