Pardew eyes Premier League return

28 March 2010 17:15
Saints, participating in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for the first time after dropping two divisions in five years, ran out comfortable 4-1 winners against League One rivals Carlisle in the final to bag their first silverware since 1976.[LNB]Pardew is under pressure from the club's new owners after executive chairman Nicola Cortese recently claimed the play-offs are the priority despite starting the season with a 10-point deduction for going into administration.[LNB]Saints are currently 12 points shy of the top six and while Pardew has not given up on a return to Wembley at the end of the campaign, he at least has a trophy to show for his efforts so far.[LNB]"We have new owners who want success tomorrow which is fine but we know the football world doesn't work like that," Pardew said.[LNB]"But I got them a Wembley visit and we want to get to the play-offs and we think we've got a chance.[LNB]"I don't think it will buy me some time, I have to accept the pressure - he is being driven to get this team into the Premier League. His driving at me can sometimes, you could argue, put too much pressure on me. Sometimes it's just about right.[LNB]"But it was important we won because I can look him in the eye today and say, 'Look, we've done a lot of good things here'.[LNB]"We talked about two years in this division and I think I'll get this team out of it in that time.[LNB]"In three years I expect this team to be challenging to get into the Premier League."[LNB]Carlisle were in trouble from the moment Peter Murphy handled in the area and Rickie Lambert thumped home the penalty after just 15 minutes.[LNB]Adam Lallana nodded in the second before the break and Papa Waigo put the game beyond the Cumbrians early in the second half.[LNB]Southampton added a fourth through Michail Antonio before substitute Gary Madine gave the blue half of Wembley something to cheer.[LNB]"It's never nice to get to a cup final and lose but we contributed to our own downfall," said Carlisle boss Greg Abbott.[LNB]"We made individual errors and weren't good enough in each box. But Southampton came to win a cup and won it in style."[LNB][LNB]

Source: Team_Talk