Adam Lallana believes Saints’ 1-0 victory over Carlisle could prove a massive result at the end of the season.

The midfielder came on at half time for his first appearance in over a month after recovering from a knee injury as Saints edged out the Cumbrians at St Mary’s.

The game was not a classic with Saints struggling a little for inspiration but Lallana is confident the win will prove important come the final reckoning no matter how it came.

He said: “It was massive. We’ve got two big away ties coming up so to get the three points and just close up shop for the last 20 minutes was needed.

“Sometimes you get these games at home – you can’t expect us to be winning 3-0 or 4-0 every week, you’ve got to dig in and grind the three points out sometimes.

“That will be a result that we will look back on at the end of the season if we get promoted and think that was one that got us there.”