'A big day for the academy' - Eckert

Southampton boss Tonda Eckert was keen to praise his players after they beat Leicester City in FA Cup extra time with a heavy influence from their academy.

Saints finished the game with five academy players on the pitch, with 20-year-old Cam Bragg playing the full game plus added time.

Before taking over the first team, Eckert was in charge of the club's under-21 side.

"I'm very pleased, today was a big day for the academy," Eckert said.

"It's a big day for the football club and just shows that we have a lot of talent coming up.

"We are making those steps to become a winning football team and that won't happen overnight but we are heading in the right direction to be able to win different games of football.

"The baseline is that we need to win and today we did that with a lot of energy and a lot of our young players on the pitch."