Ronald Koeman played down his side’s Champions League chances and insisted he is hoping seventh place will be good enough for the Europa League.

The Saints boss was quelling expectations after a 2-0 St Mary’s victory over Burnley seemed to put Saints right back in the hunt for the top four with eight games to go.

Koeman was certainly coy on this occasion, instead saying that Saints are hoping for Europe, but possibly via finishing seventh.

He said: “No, we don’t think too much to the Champions League.

“We hope that the seventh place on the table, maybe that means European football, and that will be fantastic for us.

“Of course the Champions League is amazing to play and be involved but we know our situation and we know our qualities and if it’s Europa League that will be great for us.”

There is a genuine sense of momentum around Saints again at the moment after two wins and a draw at Chelsea in the last three games.

Koeman believes his side are playing like they were at the start of the campaign.

“Sometimes it’s a little bit the feeling and if you watch the players, you watch the sessions, the players are happy and confident what they had in the beginning of the season,” he said. “That’s important because then you can bring and show your qualities.”

He added: “I think we deserved the win. The team was looking very comfortable and that’s important because without confidence, without what we can normally bring to the game was a little bit struggling but we know we have a very good organisation.

“Another clean sheet gives everybody a lot of confidence.

“I think really the confidence came in the second half.

“First half I think still there were moments in the game where we were a little bit struggling, they got some good chances and Kelvin made some goods saves.

“The team was looking more comfortable in the second half.

“Of course after the 2-0 it was a different team, more ball possession, more comfortable, and we had some good chances to score the third or fourth.”