Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert is pleased to have clarity regarding what the next few weeks will hold for his team following a 2-2 draw with the Blues, which confirmed their place in the play-offs and ruled the Saints out of the running for automatic promotion.

The Hampshire side, who travel to Preston on Saturday, now only have the matter of whether they finish third, fourth of fifth in the table.

“I think it was two top teams that tried to do everything to win the game,” Eckert said. “I think that we actually came out very strong in the second half.

“We conceded a goal in a situation where we should never concede, but it is what it is, I think it just shows where the club is at the moment.

“The support then comes on top and the players then have the confidence to keep pushing and very deservedly go up and find our way back into the game.

“It’s that last step again that we need to take and we have done this many, many times, and we just need to do it again now to bring these games over the line.”

He added: “We have clarity now, I think sometimes that’s a good thing. Obviously, if you’d asked me if I preferred to win, I’d take the three points today.

“But it is what it is, we have clarity now, we know what’s coming up, so we make sure we finish strongly on Saturday. We’ll do everything to win that game on Saturday and then onto the play-offs.”

Asked whether the game panned out as he anticipated, he reflected: “If we are very honest, the draw doesn’t help us and it doesn't help them.

“That’s the reality of the result, but you can’t do more than do everything to push forward and try to win the game.

“I think both teams did that. Compliments to Ipswich, I think they have been very consistent over the whole season.

“As I say, we have clarity now, we know what’s coming up, we know how the next three weeks are going to look, then we need to go all out for another four games.”

Eckert had praise for keeper Daniel Peretz, not just for two late saves from Jack Clarke which helped his side to the point, but also his role in Ryan Manning’s free-kick equaliser, the on-loan Bayern Munich man having made his way towards the Town penalty area to play a role in organising players to block Christian Walton’s view of the set piece.

“Even if the ball is 80 yards away from him, he lives every moment of the game,” the German boss said. “It does make a difference, how you keep pushing from the back.

“Big, big compliments to him, he also had a big save for us also towards the end and just gives us as a team a lot of confidence going into those big games now coming up.”

The Saints fans showed their frustrations towards referee Thomas Kirk regarding a number of first-half penalty claims, then felt Jacob Greaves should have seen a red rather than a yellow card for his challenge which led to the free-kick from which Manning scored.

Questioned on whether he felt they had a point, Eckert kept his thoughts to himself.

“Do you really want me to comment on that,” he smiled. “We are onto the play-offs, we have clarity for the next weeks, but I’m not going to start talking about referee’s decisions now towards the end of the season.”

Photo: TWTD