Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin has revealed that the upcoming pre-season is a big one for the club as it will say a lot about the South Coast side's ambitions.

Schneiderlin said that the club must look to tie down the manager Mauricio Pochettino to a new deal and then look to bring in the players who could turn Southampton into a top-six Premier League side.

"It's important for the club, because it's going to show the direction they want to take," he told The Echo. "[The direction] they want to take with the gaffer first, because there's many players who want to play for the gaffer.

"There's a lot of things that they have to do and then we'll see. Of course, we don't know what's going to happen this summer, but Southampton can get a step forward, and that's the main thing.

"Of course, we want, I want, to be part of a team that is playing for the top five or top six places, and if they can't do this then many players are going to be disappointed."

Southampton will take on Cardiff City at home on Saturday afternoon.