Southampton manager Tonda Eckert has embraced the significance of the occasion, acknowledging that while his team will have to suffer against the quality of Manchester City, they must find another gear when they have the ball. The German coach, who has guided the Saints on a 20-match unbeaten run, believes the momentum from their cup journey is vital.
"I thought that we had rewritten that story over the last weeks,” Eckert said on the club'sofficial website ."It’s quite clear that the cup has also helped us to perform in the league – I think it’s that way around."
"Obviously you do find belief by winning games in the Championship, but you find even more belief if you see that you can compete with teams in the Premier League. I think that’s very normal – it’s true for the players, as it is for the staff and everyone who works around the team."
"I think it’s not that one is in the way of the other. If you see what it means to the football club, if you see how many supporters are going to be travelling with us to Wembley, I don’t see how this is in the way of anything."