Southampton, United Kingdom--Southampton manager Ronald Koeman believes the battle to finish fifth in the Premier League will go to the final day of the season.
Koeman conceded defeat in his side's efforts to break into the top four after the recent defeat against Everton, but Saints' 2-0 home win over relegation-threatened Hull on Saturday moved them up to fifth, two points above Liverpool and Tottenham in the battle for a berth in next season's Europa League.
Liverpool will have the opportunity to leap-frog Southampton when they face Newcastle on Monday, but Koeman insists the three-way contest will go all the way to the wire.
"It will be a fight between Liverpool, Tottenham and Southampton," he said.
"It was a surprising result to see Tottenham lose to Aston Villa today. We know it's difficult to finish above these two teams but after this win we are closer to our target for the end of season."
Koeman's team secured their comfortable win through a James Ward-Prowse penalty and Graziano Pelle's late strike.
It was Italy forward Pelle's first Premier League goal in 15 games and Koeman hopes he can go on a scoring run during the final weeks of the season.
"We do everything to give the players the confidence. He had a good chance in the first half, then he took the second and scored the goal," Koeman said.
"It was an important moment in the game. It killed the game and was important for the confidence of the player."
Koeman admitted he was relieved to see Pelle score after he resisted the urge to axe his out-of-form star and play Shane Long as a central striker instead.
AFP
