Surprise package Southampton demanding respect

Southampton FC manager Ronald Koeman is hopeful that his Premier League upstarts can continue their push for a UEFA Champions League spot after dislodging Manchester United FC from third place on Sunday.

The Saints have consistently defied expectations this season and never more so than in their 1-0 success at Old Trafford, Dušan Tadić coming off the bench to give the south-coast club their first victory at United since January 1988. A "proud" moment for Koeman, who is enjoying a stellar first season at the helm after replacing Mauricio Pochettino in the summer, it also underlined his side's ability to upset the traditional elite.

"It is important if you are not a big club and you have to play against a big club that you are not afraid by the name or the stadium," said the Dutchman. "We learned that in the last few weeks and I'm not surprised we won because I know the players, the organisation in the team and we have 11 clean sheets in 21 games."

Southampton lost a number of key players to bigger-name clubs before the start of the season – including left-back Luke Shaw to United – and many felt they would simply fall away when they suffered a run of four league defeats last month. Instead, they have restated their credentials with notable victories against Everton FC and Arsenal FC, plus a draw with leaders Chelsea FC.

With his charges now three points clear of fifth-placed Arsenal, Koeman is optimistic they can maintain their momentum until the end of the campaign. "If we keep our spirit and our belief we can continue. It's not only one win against United – we've showed that in more games. The players have a fantastic attitude. If we keep that ambition, you never know."

Louis van Gaal's United will be anxious to have their say as well, of course, and Koeman's compatriot came away from the match with a number of regrets. "We played a much better game than Southampton. They were lucky to score out of nothing. That is very disappointing. We didn't create much but we dominated the game."

Defeat ended a sequence of ten league games unbeaten for the Red Devils, and Van Gaal is determined that his team bounce back as soon as possible. "We have to be better, we have to improve and that is why we are working hard and working on that. I have said already we were the dominant team, but we have to create more when you are the dominant team. I think Southampton came for the draw, and went away with the victory."