Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse has refused to give up hope of qualifying for a Champions League spot, despite being eight points off the pace.
Ronald Koeman's side suffered a blow in their top-four campaign by succumbing to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Everton at the weekend.
The Saints have seven games left to claw their way back into Champions League contention, but they need the teams above them, including Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United, to drop points.
"We set our sights out at the beginning of the season and we are aware we are quite far off the top four now but we have seven massive games to go now," the Daily Star quotes Ward-Prowse as saying.
"We have not given up. We are an ambitious group. We've had a very, very good season, and many people tipped us not to have a good season and we have proved them wrong. We are determined to silence the people who criticised us."
Southampton's next game is at home to Hull City on Saturday.
Danielle Joynson
