Ronald Koeman says his players will be ready for Hull City on Saturday, despite having played on Wednesday night in the Capital One Cup.
Steve Bruce’s side have not been in action this week, but Koeman’s men prevailed against Stoke City in a hard-fought encounter at the Britannia Stadium on Wednesday to progress to the Capital One Cup quarter-finals.
Despite just two days to prepare for the game against the Tigers, Koeman believes his side will be more than ready for the game, as they look to make it ten wins from their previous 11 games.
Koeman, speaking to youtube.com/SouthamptonFC, said: “The players were a little bit tired because it was a tough second half. It was physical and there were a lot of fouls, but we had to handle that and finally won the game.
“The feeling of pain is more easier to adapt to and go on when you are winning because it gives the team a good belief and a good spirit.
“We had a recovery session [on Thursday morning], and from Friday morning we will meet about Hull City and how they play, sometimes they have three defenders, sometimes four.
“They have had two good results away to Liverpool and Arsenal. It is a difficult one and we have to be good to get a good result, but we have good confidence.”
Saints are preparing for the game against Hull at St George’s Park in Burton, and Koeman has been delighted with the facilities available to his side.
“It is a fantastic facility,” he added. “I enjoy everything about it. I think that it is good for the players, for team building, to be together for four or five days.
“It is the best way to recover after Wednesday, because it is not easy to travel late in the night and then travel again to Hull on Friday. Now we stay, we can recover and be 100 per cent on Saturday.”
The Tigers have picked up impressive draws away to Arsenal and Liverpool in their previous two games, but Koeman thinks Bruce’s side may be more attacking in their approach at the KC Stadium.
Koeman commented: “They had two good results away and now they have to play at home. Maybe they have to play more open than in the away games and that will give us maybe more space to play.
“We have to prepare ourselves. It is a difficult one. They did a very good job last season in the Premier League and they are middle of the table now. There are no easy games, we know that.”
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