Mauricio Pochettino described himself as “a little bit sad” that Saints couldn’t round off their first season back in the Premier League with a final day victory against Stoke at St Mary’s.

Pochettino’s men were held to 1-1 draw that meant they ended the campaign without a win in their last six, having picked up four victories in the new manager’s first 16 games at the club.

However, despite pre-season talk of attempting to qualify for Europe, the major goal for most supporters of Premier League survival had been achieved with a bit to spare.

Pochettino said: “I am very happy for the supporters and the tribute they had with the players as well but I am a little bit sad and disappointed we didn’t win.”

He added: “I think we’ve been superior in the last six games that we’ve played but we haven’t been able to close down games. That’s why it may seem our performances might not be as good as they should have been but we’ve lacked that final touch to close down games and get wins.

“It’s a great learning curve for 99 per cent of the footballers that have been with us at this football club.

“We are fully aware that the last ten games in any big league such as the Premier League or any big European league are very emotionally charged.

“We had to perform well in the last ten games and perhaps we were lacking a little bit of mental strength in that sense but I think overall we have played well and performed well in these last ten games.”