Sunday 28 September 2014 11:38, UK
Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster has urged his team-mates to keep their feet on the ground following their red-hot start to the season.
The Saints sit second in the Premier League table with 13 points after goals from Ryan Bertrand and Graziano Pelle earned them a 2-1 victory over QPR at St Mary's Stadium.
The result capped a remarkable week for Ronald Koeman’s side which also saw them knock Arsenal out of the Capital One Cup on Tuesday at the Emirates.
Forster is one of a number of new signings who have made a huge early impact for Southampton with the likes of Pelle, Bertrand and Dusan Tadic also shining.
The English international has been very impressed with the quality of his team-mates but he stressed the players must remain focused and not let their success make them complacent.
“We’re on a good run and it’s just important we keep looking one game ahead and be fully focused and keep on trying to play the football we know we can play,” he said.
“It’s just important we don’t go too far ahead and just enjoy the moment really.
“We’ve got a fantastic squad. You look at the bench and the bench is very strong with players who can come on and make a real difference.
“The team hasn’t changed too much but it’s what we need that kind of consistency.
“It’s just important that we can keep everyone fit because that’s a benefit and as I said just take it a game at a time.”
The Southampton players were given Wednesday off by Koeman following their win over Arsenal in London on Tuesday night.
The players elected to come in and train anyway and Forster feels that gesture is indicative of the desire and determination to succeed that exists within the dressing room.
“We’ve got a fantastic changing room, a great group of lads,” he said.
“The atmosphere is really good and I just think we felt on Wednesday it was important for us to come in.
“We had a very, very tough game on Tuesday night and we just wanted to do everything we can and do it properly and we felt coming in Wednesday for recovery was what was needed.”
Italian striker Pelle has been a huge success at Southampton since joining from Dutch giants Feyenoord, a club where he scored 50 goals in 57 Eredivisie games.
The forward produced a sensational overhead kick in the second half to win the game against QPR and Forster was full of praise for his team-mate afterwards.
“He’s got that in his locker and it was worthy of winning any game,” he said.
“He’s been great for us since the start of the season and he’s really produced the goods up front and has scored important goals at important times.
“Today was the perfect example of that. He’s so strong He’s a great target man. He holds the ball up well and he’s got great touch.
“He’s good with the ball at his feet as well as in the air. He’s the perfect frontman for us.”
