Ronald Koeman urges Southampton to secure Euro berth next season

Southampton boss Ronald Koeman is challenging his side to continue their impressive run and secure European qualification for a second successive season.

Saints lie sixth in the Premier League table having won five of their last six games, leaving them just seven points outside the top four.

"Of course we have some objectives before the season," said the Dutchman. "What we did last season meant we got an opportunity to play in Europe - and that's our ambition.

"It's not about if we finish fifth, or that we need to do better than last season. Football is difficult - we enjoy the moment of the season but we know also that after a good run it is difficult to continue that, and we have a tough one this Saturday."

Chelsea are next up for Koeman and Southampton, with the Premier League champions unbeaten domestically since Guus Hiddink's appointment on December 19. Koeman will be hoping his side can repeat their performance against the Londoners from earlier in the season when they ran out 3-1 winners at Stamford Bridge in October.

And Koeman was full of praise for the job his countryman Hiddink has done since taking over from Jose Mourinho.

"He was the right man at the right moment and the players are looking more comfortable and he has given them confidence.

"I was expecting that because they have good players with good qualities. The way the manager is dealing with the team is good for this moment," added Koeman.

"Why and when they changed the manager they signed Guus Hiddink for his second spell at Chelsea and he had, in the past, had a good relationship with the players.

"He is a coach with a lot of experience at all levels and knows a lot. He has a knowledge about characters of players and how to give them that important support to the key players."

Koeman also revealed that long-term absentees Florin Gardos and Jay Rodriguez are back in training, after recovering from injury.

"What we did last season meant we got an opportunity to play in Europe - and that's our ambition."

"We had everybody on the pitch this morning, including Florin Gardos and Jay Rodriguez, but of course they are not available for the weekend," he said.

Romanian defender Gardos has been out since July after sustaining a knee injury in pre-season, while Rodriguez has only played five league matches since suffering an ACL injury back in April 2014, and Koeman was unwilling to put a timeframe on the England striker's return.

He said: "That's difficult. It is always difficult to put a date on that. He maybe needs one or two more weeks to complete all the training sessions, and to play 45-60 minutes with the U21s. But I hope he will be available for the last part of the season."