Southampton captain Jose Fonte says they must get mentally tougher.

Fonte has warned his team-mates to forget a place in Europe unless they can sort out their “mentality issues".

After victory over Bournemouth, Fonte revealed harsh words were exchanged in the Saints' dressing room on Sunday despite a win that lifted them to seventh in the table.

The 31-year-old said: “This cannot happen again. That is why everyone in the dressing room was disappointed after you win 2-0 at home because if you want to compete with the top six, then you cannot allow yourself to have this second half.

“That is why I say it is a mentality issue. You have to be the full 95 minutes on the front foot, concentrating and kill the game.

“You cannot allow teams to get back in games and that is why some words were said in the dressing room of discontent.

“It's just a question of being ruthless and that's it. Just never take the foot off the accelerator."