Kevin Blackwell's bold charge to the brink of the play-offs was halted at the final hurdle at Southampton and although disappointed he was phlegmatic about the way the season ended:

"We knew it wasn't in our hands but we gave it a good go, and we had a real responsibility to the other teams around Southampton not to lie down and die.

"The atmosphere was electric and the whole afternoon was pure theatre - we went in front, went behind, got back, they went down to ten men, it had everything.

"Southampton did a great job in getting a big crowd and atmosphere here and no-one left their seat early because they had great value for money."

It was accepted by both teams that the turning point of the game was the minute when Matt Kilgallon almost scored and Southampton immediately equalised:

"That would have made it 2-0 and would have made things very difficult for Southampton. It was a good set-piece, he found space and met the ball powerfully and I don't know how much Richard Wright knew about saving it.

"But that's football, it's about what happens during ninety minutes, even though I was wishing that the referee would blow the final whistle at 1-0 to us!

"The lads have done me proud since I came and to reach this stage in with a chance is a real credit to them. I played four strikers because I knew we had to win the game."