Southampton boss Claude Puel is full of confidence going into the second-leg of their EFL Cup semi with Liverpool.

Puel was asked about the possibility of following in the footsteps of Lawrie McMenemy and Gordon Strachan in leading Saints to a major final, but refused to entertain the prospect.

“It is not possible for me to think about the final before we play the second leg," he insisted.

“It would be a mistake to think about the final and to dream to win this, because for the moment we are nothing. It is one leg, one goal up.

“You know this game can do the difference against any team, any player.

“They have solutions and great players and it's important to stay with a good focus about this game and our ability and capacity to play a strong game.

“Not just in defence because it is not efficient to just keep the same result in defence, but to stay strong and push them for a strong game with all the team together."