Southampton boss makes Leeds United play-off final nerves comment after 'beautiful moment' vs West Brom

Leeds United will take on Southampton in next weekend's Championship play-off final after the Saints booked their place at Wembley Stadium on Friday night. Russell Martin's side played out a 0-0 draw with West Bromwich Albion in the first leg of their semi-final and the scores remained level as the two clubs reached half-time at St Mary's in the second leg.

However, it was Southampton who came good in the end with Will Smallbone easing the pressure with an opener just after the break. That was followed by an Adam Armstrong brace, with the latter being from the penalty spot.

Cedric Kipre pulled one back in stoppage time for Carlos Corberan's Baggies, but it was nothing more than a consolation, with the full-time whistle prompting a pitch invasion from the home fans. As such, it is Southampton who will do battle with Leeds, who reached the final on Thursday by thumping Norwich City on Thursday night, with the winner set to complete next season's Premier League line-up.

Southampton manager Russell Martin expects there to be nerves in the build-up to the clash next week, but he's more than confident that his side deserve to be in the position they are in.

"I think it's going to be a really top game of football," Martin said after beating West Brom. "It's going to be one to look forward to and to also feel a lot of butterflies and nerves throughout the week.

“We have to manage that with the players and staff. The players deserve that. They deserve the opportunity because of how brave they've been, how much belief and understanding they have now and what they're doing, how much they've stuck with it even when it's been a bit bumpy at times.

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"I said that from day one, it wasn't going to be easy to change a style of play and a culture and a club that had a tough, tough year the year before. They've deserved the opportunity, they've earned it.

"They've earned every single bit of it and now they have to really make the most of it. Tonight was a beautiful moment for us. We've had so many here this season. The fans were incredible but we have a chance to have a better moment next week. So we have to make sure that's the case."

The Saints boss had urged his side to make West Brom suffer and that is exactly what they did in the second half once the deadlock had been broken. Before that first goal went in during the 49th minute, though, there were some nervy moments with both sides knowing how much was on the line.

"Once the whistle goes it's so much easier," Martin added. "It's all the stuff before and not knowing what's to come. From the first five, ten minutes I liked our team. I could see the boys were there.

"We spoke about trying to get into flow as quickly as possible in the game and they did that and they found some rhythm. We're playing against a really good opponent so it's tough to break down.

"There were some bits that we needed to work on at half-time to help the team. They still have to go and carry it out and, honestly, they were amazing. It was a tough game but we got there and we were patient. We got stronger and stronger so it was good."