Ronald Koeman has paid tribute to his Southampton players for the way in which they thumped MK Dons 6-0 in Wednesday's third-round League Cup clash.

Jay Rodriguez opened the scoring before a brace from Sadio Mane saw the Saints boast a 3-0 half-time lead at Stadium MK last night.

Rodriguez added a 48th-minute penalty before a double from Shane Long helped Koeman's side fatten their lead, and the Dutchman is delighted with his side's refusal to take their foot off the gas.

"I'm very pleased because I think we showed our qualities from the beginning of the game," he told reporters. "We had a good start and the first goal of the day made things a little bit more easy. We kept the spirit in the team and did some good pressing in the first 30 minutes.

"I think the best was the second half. Sometimes after 3-0 it's difficult to keep the spirit and the concentration until the end of the game, but we worked very hard even in the second half to score more goals.

"Sometimes players are already thinking of the next game, but everybody showed his quality and took his opportunity on a good level."

Southampton will host Aston Villa in an all-Premier League fourth-round clash at St Mary's.