Saturday 17 February 2018 20:51, UK
Mauricio Pellegrino insisted Southampton's 2-1 win at West Brom in the FA Cup fifth round will give his side belief in their relegation battle.
Goals at the beginning of each half from Wesley Hoedt and Dusan Tadic saw Southampton progress to the quarter-finals, despite a superb reply from Salomon Rondon making the final score 2-1.
The win was Saints' second win at The Hawthorns in three games, having beaten West Brom in the Premier League two weeks ago, and with a battle to remain in the Premier League now the focus for Pellegrino, he believes Saints can now kick on.
"I think it [the win] is important for many reasons," Pellegrino said. "The first one is the belief of the team to improve. I think the spirit of the team was really good. It is something we were talking about last week, even in difficult situations like at the end. We were competing well and were focused.
"In a physical battle they are really strong and also we gave an opportunity to other players who have not played so much in the past month.
"Every single game we must improve and draw some conclusions on the positives and work on the negatives because every single game from now is more and more important."
With so many crucial games in their battle for survival still to come, Pellegrino believes that their first FA Cup quarter-final appearance since 2005 will add to an already congested final few months of the season.
"I don't know it depends on how you see the possibility [congested fixture list]." Pellegrino added. "For us it is important to move to the next round to help the club and help the players and the manager and supports and fans, everyone is happy.
"The problem is when you have two important games in three or four days and you have to decide [who plays]. This for me is the main question. When you have plenty of time then I see no reason to be unhappy."
