Tuesday 23 May 2017 11:04, UK
Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster believes the club faces an important summer ahead, as he reflects on a "season of almosts".
Saints finished their Premier League campaign inside the top half of the table for the fourth year running, ending what has been a season of ups and downs with an eighth-place finish, two spots lower and 17 points fewer than last year.
After exiting their first Europa League campaign at the group stage and narrowly missing out against Manchester United in the EFL Cup final, Forster admits the club could have achieved more and should now focus on strengthening a talented squad.
"We've had a bit of a tough season. It's been a season of almosts," he told Sky Sports.
"We should have done a bit better in the Europa League. We should have probably got out of the group, but it was a fantastic experience for the club.
"When you look at how other teams have done when they've played Europa League and Premier League as well, they've tended to struggle. We've just lacked a bit of consistency."
Following the disappointment of an early European exit at the hands of underdogs Hapoel Be'er Sheva in December, attention soon turned to the League Cup as Forster helped guide Southampton to impressive wins over Arsenal and Liverpool to set up a Wembley clash against United.
But, despite the best efforts of an inspired Saints side, Jose Mourinho's team triumphed 3-2 to extend Southampton's wait for a first major trophy since their famous FA Cup victory against United in 1976.
"It's been a strange campaign for us. We did really well in the League Cup, but we didn't win it in the end," said Forster, who kept 14 clean sheets after playing every minute of the Saints' league outings.
"Getting to Wembley and the EFL Cup final was fantastic for us but, equally, if you get to a final you want to win it and I also think for us it would have been fantastic to have finished in the European places again."
The England international, who has six caps to his name, is no stranger to top-flight European competition.
During his time at Celtic, Forster featured in two consecutive Champions League campaigns and came up against some of the world's best, helping the Hoops to a historic 2-1 win over Barcelona in 2012.
Now, the 29-year-old has his sights firmly set on achieving European football again and, as the summer transfer window approaches, hopes the club will seek to add strength in depth if they are to mount a challenge next season.
"It will be an important summer for the club and I think, you look at the Europa League experience, and once we've had a taste of that a club wants to be there every year and we all do," he added.
"I think it will be a big summer for us and hopefully, a couple of players will come in and add a bit more depth to the squad."
Forster stressed the importance of holding onto key players during the transfer window, but admits it's difficult to prevent heads from being turned when strong individual performances consequently attract interest from other clubs.
"When you look at how good our squad is and how fantastic some of the players have been, it's always important to keep your main players whatever club you're at," he said.
"If we can do that then that will serve us a good foundation for having a good season next year.
"Obviously it's hard for players when big clubs come in for them and it's obviously been off the back of them having a great season themselves.
"When you speak to everyone at the club and what they want to achieve, there's no reason why we can't keep those players and achieve those things together."
