Southampton boss Martin: I've never seen support like that

Southampton boss Russell Martin hailed the fans after their playoff semifinal win against West Brom.

Saints will meet Leeds at Wembley for a place in the Premier League next season.

Martin said: "Yeah, I'm really grateful to them and I'm really proud of them. Tough game against such a good opponent and a brilliant coach in Carlos. So we knew it was going to be difficult.

"I loved the energy of the team, the welcome we got from the fans when we came in. I've not seen anything like that.

"They were amazing, they really played their part tonight so I'm really grateful to the supporters for that.

"Honestly, it was incredible. A lot of emotional people on the bus seeing that on the way in really set the tone.

"It made the team talk really easy. So, yeah, really good night. I'm proud of the players. They showed so much courage to play football in the way we played.

"They were, honestly, at times, brilliant and beautiful against such a good opponent. In the second half, I think we got better as the game went on.

"I think we deserve to win tonight on that performance. Now the challenge is to do that again on the biggest stage and to bring that courage and aggression and to be themselves - the team we want to be."