Darren Moore felt his Port Vale side “could and should have taken maximum points” at Wigan after the sides shared the spoils in a Sky Bet League One 0-0 stalemate.

Wigan’s Martial Godo came closest to breaking the deadlock, only to fire against a post in the second half.

At the other end, Wigan were indebted to England Under-21 goalkeeper Sam Tickle for pulling off, in the words of Moore, “an outstanding double save” to deny James Plant and Baylee Dipepa.

The point lifts Vale out of the relegation zone, and Moore says that will give them a “psychological boost” for their last five games of the campaign.

“It’s a good day for us at Port Vale, getting the clean sheet and how valuable that point is in terms of the psychological boost of getting out of that bottom four,” he said.

“While we’ll take that today, we know the work isn’t nearly finished, it’s only given us a platform.

“And we have to continue to perform, keep that togetherness, and keep that unity going forward.

“As a group we certainly feel we could and should have taken maximum points, but their goalkeeper has pulled off an outstanding double save.

“The first one, he was going the other way, and then he gets up and makes another save.

“Credit to him for earning them a point, but I just thought both teams were at it, both teams were pressing on, and it was a good footballing match.

“We pressed them high up the pitch, and I liked the way we played on them, and forced errors, which we should have capitalised more on.

“Overall it was a solid performance, and you’re always happy with a clean sheet away from home.”

For Wigan boss Shaun Maloney, it was a third game in a row where his side have failed to beat a relegation-threatened side, after a home draw with Burton and a defeat at Cambridge.

“It wasn’t too bad, it was just OK,” he said. “I know it finished 0-0, but both teams had chances.

“The first 20 minutes was OK, but for the next 25 minutes we became a bit toothless really.

“The second half was a bit better, we had chances to score, as did they…the overall performance was just OK.

“In terms of effort and the mentality of the players – something I really challenged the players on – I couldn’t ask for any more.

“Port Vale are desperate for points, and they went very aggressive during parts of the game.

“When that happens, you have to use the forward passes enough, we just didn’t recognise when to play the forward pass.

“I liked the way the three centre-backs (Charlie Hughes, Charlie Goode and Jason Kerr) played, the forwards they have are good players and I never felt in massive, massive danger from open play.

“Sam Tickle has also made an amazing double save, and he’s just a brilliant player.

“I say it every week, but there always seems to be a moment where Sam influences the result, and that was the case again.

“Those four players were the stand-outs for me.”

Manager Stephen Robinson praised his St Mirren players for sealing top-six football for a second successive season and urged them to now aim for Europe.

The Paisley side lost 2-1 at home to Hearts, who forged into a two-goal lead thanks to Jorge Grant’s penalty and a Mikael Mandron own goal.

Toyosi Olusanya’s strike wasn’t enough to prevent St Mirren slipping to defeat but Hibernian’s failure to win against St Johnstone confirmed a top-half finish for the Buddies.

Robinson said: “The top six is achieved over 33 games and you get your rewards. We are five points clear in fifth place and this group thoroughly deserves that.

“It’s the first time the club has achieved successive top-six finishes in 39 years. People’s expectations have risen massively and that’s down to the players.

“With the resources we have, we shouldn’t be in the top six. We are punching way above our weight in terms of the clubs we are competing with.

“Credit to the staff who work tirelessly to drag every bit of energy and quality out of the squad. And to the board who have backed us for the last two years and tried to push the club forward.

“Now our aim is can we get into Europe? It’s 37 years since we managed that but now we can breathe a bit, relax and play our football.”

Opposite number Steven Naismith was equally satisfied as Hearts ground out their 10th away victory of the season to strengthen their hold on third place.

He explained: “I said that to the squad after the game. I think this is probably the stereotypical game Hearts have been questioned in over the years.

“Can you deal with the fight? Add to that St Mirren are going for the top six so when we take the lead, we know they were going to go gung-ho.

“They did and brought more attacking players on and we had to deal with it – and I think we did.

“We did it without three of our most consistent players this season and we did it in terrible conditions that both teams had to play in. So for me it’s a fantastic win.”

Bolton manager Ian Evatt praised Aaron Collins after the 2-0 win at Bristol Rovers.

Following a hat-trick against Reading on Easter Monday, Collins opened the scoring against Rovers, the club he left on February 1, with a 52nd-minute dinked finish.

Cameron Jerome won a penalty in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time to allow Aaron Morley to wrap up the victory and put Wanderers just a point off the League One automatic promotion spots.

“We lacked fluidity but we didn’t lack courage, desire and bravery – and it was a moment of real quality from Aaron which was exactly why we brought him in. A cool, calm finish,” explained Evatt.

“To be composed to lift it over the goalkeeper at that stage of the game with so much on the line for us was real quality and I’m pleased for him, with Cameron Jerome coming on in the final minutes to get us over the line.

“The most important thing was for us to win the game and we did that. We managed to be resolute. We dug in and did the hard yards at times. It was really difficult conditions out there, the wind really affected the game,” added Evatt, as Bolton won for the first time in seven away games.

Bristol Rovers were shut out for a sixth game in a row, having not scored since March 2.

However the Gas did play well and created enough chances to have taken something from the game, with Chris Martin’s stooping header clawed from off the goal-line, and Luke Thomas and Antony Evans both drawing good first-half saves from Nathan Baxter.

Rovers manager Matt Taylor pointed to his side’s inexperience, with no wins in Rovers’ last six games.

“It was harsh but yet another lesson learned in terms of the moment of the goals, it is just too poor from us in understanding what is needed at that moment,” he said.

“It’s young players involved and we know they make mistakes but we’re learning the hard way at the moment.

“I’ve got to be careful. That’s what happens when the inexperience factor is there.

“Too many times we’re defensively sound as a team and then suddenly we’re behind and chasing a game.”

Wolves boss Gary O’Neil admitted he may face further disciplinary action after confronting referee Tony Harrington following his side’s 2-1 Premier League defeat to West Ham at Molineux.

Wolves were angered when Maximilian Kilman’s goal in the ninth minute of stoppage time was disallowed, something O’Neil described as “possibly the worst decision I’ve ever seen”.

VAR Darren England advised Harrington to check the monitor as Wolves substitute Tawanda Chirewa was stood in front of Lukasz Fabianski in an offside position and deemed to be impeding the West Ham goalkeeper.

Wolves’ protests led to a flurry of yellow cards for those on O’Neil’s bench, and the manager said he walked towards the tunnel because he was aware he is one yellow card away from a touchline ban.

But O’Neil’s attempts to speak to Harrington after the game may yet lead to further problems.

“Unfortunately I wasn’t able to control my emotions and my feelings,” O’Neil said. “I was in with the referee and it didn’t go too well so I haven’t had an explanation.

“But the explanation is irrelevant anyway because everyone I’ve spoken to, David Moyes, Fabianski, they all can’t believe it’s been given for offside. It’s a terrible decision.”

O’Neil said Harrington shut down their conversation “probably because of the way I asked”, adding that he was “in a fairly bad mood” when he went to the referee’s room.

“I don’t know if it will be reported,” O’Neil added. “If I get told off, so be it. I’ve been told off many times before. I will apologise if I’ve stepped over the line but I can only react on how I feel at that moment.”

West Ham came from behind to win with James Ward-Prowse scoring directly from a corner after Lucas Paqueta’s penalty cancelled out a first-half spot-kick from Pablo Sarabia.

Moyes expressed sympathy for O’Neil but said any player stood where Chirewa had was at risk of being penalised for offside.

Asked if his side had got away with a decision, the Scot said: “I think I’m probably the last man at the moment to say you’re getting away with one. We’ve had so many poor decisions it is unbelievable in recent weeks.

“When I’ve looked at it again, the boy’s definitely standing in front of the goalkeeper…and if that player is not going to try to get back onside then there’s a chance you’ll be called offside.

“But I have to say I felt for Gary because the way I’ve felt the last 2-3 weeks with the decisions we’ve had, I’ve been sitting in a dark room for a week.”

Wolves have disputed several refereeing decisions throughout the season, and O’Neil said his players felt they had been disrespected.

“The players are unbelievably frustrated with the decision-making and officiating,” he said.

“They had a discussion as a group, they don’t feel like they’re being respected by the officials and I’ve talked them down a couple of times from figuring out what they want to do about that.

“I can’t expect them not to this time, I understand how they feel about it, and whatever they decide to do about it is up to them.”

Wolves had deservedly led at the break, but West Ham improved massively after the half-time introduction of Michail Antonio and Ben Johnson.

“I think the two teams changed shirts at half-time,” Moyes said.

But the win may have come at a cost with Jarrod Bowen limping off as Thursday’s Europa League match away to Bayer Leverkusen looms.

“He’s had a knee into his hip, or into his back,” Moyes said. “It’s not a twist but he’s really stiff. I’ve had one or two of those myself and they don’t go away too quickly so we need to hope it doesn’t linger with him.”

Erik ten Hag has urged his Manchester United players to “bring big games over the line” ahead of their Premier League clash with Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday.

United have dropped five points from winning positions in their last two games, with the most recent missed opportunity coming against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.

Cole Palmer scored twice deep in second half added-time as the Blues stole all three points in a dramatic 4-3 victory over ten Hag’s outfit.

Mason Mount thought he had found the winner with his strike in the sixth minute of stoppage time against Brentford, but Kristoffer Ajer equalised three minutes later in a 1-1 draw last Saturday at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Ten Hag admitted his side need to start getting over the line when leading games, seeking inspiration from previous victories over the league’s best.

“We can play to a very high standard. We can compete with the best and beat the best in the Premier League and when you can do that, you can also do it across Europe,” he said.

“We need to learn how to bring big games over the line, Saturday was an example.

“We have to step up, make better decisions individually and as a team.”

Thursday’s defeat in west London ended an unbeaten Premier League run against Chelsea which started in 2017.

Ten Hag wants his players to use the defeat as fuel going into their clash against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.

He added: “We will see on Sunday (how to beat Liverpool).

“But I have to say first I have to deal with this, but we can’t deal with this long. We have to recover very quick. We have to turn this around.

“We will be in a positive mood. We will be looking forward. We have to take energy but we will be mad, angry. From anger you can take a lot of energy and that is how we have to do it.”

Marcus Rashford came off the bench at Stamford Bridge, but failed to have an impact on the night.

Ten Hag revealed the forward is as motivated as ever to help the team.

He said: “I think lately his form is progressing and so the time will always be right. I think he has a big motivation because he wants to be successful with us.

“He wants to score goals, but he wants to win trophies and contribute and we still have a chance in the FA Cup.

“He wants to fight for a Champions League spot and the Euros are coming so I will say his motivation should be high.

“And the form, that is a moment and he can change the momentum always. Before Brentford, he scored three goals in three games.”

Everton manager Sean Dyche admits his change in tactics to “win ugly” paid off as a 1-0 victory over 10-man Burnley eased some of their relegation worries.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who ended his six-month wait for a goal with the equaliser at Newcastle in the week, charged down Arijanet Muric’s clearance seconds before the end of the first half for the only goal and a first league win since December.

Luton’s victory over Bournemouth means Dyche’s side remain only four points above the drop zone but they have put another club – Brentford – between them.

“Important and welcome,” was his assessment of the result.

“We looked at the idea of how well we had played this season and not won so we deliberately tried to play it long and strong and play the game as awkward and ugly as possible and get an an ugly win and it worked.

“We gave the ball away too cheaply but there is a nervousness when you have been on a run like that. That stops the storyline and we have to build on that.

“But the winning mentality is important and I think it was on show today to make sure we found a win.”

The three points were even more vital with the ruling of a second independent commission into profitability and sustainability breaches – for which they have already been docked six points this season – expected next week.

“You are trying to control the controllables,” Dyche added.

“We’ve had another step forward to change that today, I’m not saying we have every answer but it is a very important victory I think that’s another step forward in the mentality to take the rest of the season on.”

Clarets defender Dara O’Shea was sent off in the 67th minute after bringing down Dwight McNeil just over the halfway line and boss Vincent Kompany felt referee Michael Oliver’s decision was harsh at best.

“The letter of the law says he should have been denying a goalscoring opportunity to be sent off and I’ll let you guys make your judgement on that.

“There was a lot of force on the ball and it would be a comfortable pick up for the goalkeeper.”

Defeat left 19th-placed Burnley six points from safety but Kompany refused to blame his goalkeeper.

“He has to keep going. It is part of being a professional footballer. We all live with the mistakes we make, it happens for everyone in life and in football it is no different,” he added.

“Our momentum collapsed twice through moments of our own doing. But I can’t for one second criticise the effort of the team and the idea to come here and play like this.”

Unai Emery says Aston Villa have to work on their mentality after their Champions League qualification hopes took a huge hit in a 3-3 draw with Brentford.

Villa looked to be consolidating fourth position after goals either side of half-time from Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers put them in the ascendency.

But they hit the self-destruct button as three goals in nine minutes from Mathias Jorgensen, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa saw Brentford turn the game on its head.

The hosts had to rally and a Watkins header rescued a point, but the result handed the impetus to Tottenham in the race for guaranteed Champions League qualification.

Watkins was scathing in his assessment after the game, saying Villa lack the “maturity or game intelligence”, and Emery responded.

“We are disappointed and frustrated because we played very well until the minute 60 and after the minute 75, but in 10 minutes in the Premier League we know we can lose everything we have built before,” Emery said.

“The mentality of the team we always have to work and increasing and be demanding, this is a process.

“Today, everybody is a little bit upset and not understanding clearly what happened.

“I will work with the players and tell them how we can continue in our way, being successful like we are, with 60 points after 32 games is more than our expectation before.

“But we have to be demanding to compete but we can draw a match like today when we lose a little bit of focus in the moment.

“The first 60 minutes I played like I really want, like we have played here before when we won a lot of matches in a row, it was completely difficult to understand how we played afterwards. It is my responsibility and I will work on it.”

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has no issues with Ivan Toney and Nathan Collins’ heated exchange at the end of the match.

The team-mates were angrily disagreeing with each other after the full-time whistle, with Toney seemingly unhappy about Collins not passing to him.

Asked what it was about, Frank said: “I don’t know, I was over there speaking to them but I don’t know exactly what it was and I don’t really care.

“I know it is two very competitive people that want to win a match. I don’t know exactly what it was the situation, but we have a very good culture and a united team and it is OK to have a little bit of friction.

“They will sort it out no problem.”

Their disagreement could have been born out of Brentford’s winless run extending to nine games as they failed to see it out after taking the lead.

“Fantastic game and brand for the Premier League, this is showing why it is the best league in the world and the most entertaining,” the Dane added.

“Probably Unai and I would say we both should have won the game, both can argue well for why we should, OK in the end it’s a fair result.

“I think it is a fine point but it is two points dropped when we are leading in that situation and we haven’t been able to get over the line. But the performance is another step in the right direction.”

Michael Carrick praised his Middlesbrough players for digging deep and finding a way to win, in what Swansea boss Luke Williams described as an “atrocious game of football” at the Riverside.

Williams was furious after his side slumped to a 2-0 defeat that leaves the Swans just five points above the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.

But Carrick’s Boro are now unbeaten in their last seven matches and are just six points off the play-off places ahead of Wednesday’s crucial trip to Hull.

Emmanuel Latte Lath came up with two moments of quality to secure Boro’s second home win in a week, with the Ivorian striking either side of half-time to take his tally for the season to 10 in the league and 12 in all competitions.

Latte Lath opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time then wrapped up the points 11 minutes from time with a clinical right-footed finish.

Carrick said: “I’m delighted to be honest. It’s the type of game that can pass you by if you don’t do the right things.

“I thought the boys were disciplined and effective and efficient in the work we wanted to do.

“We knew they’re good in taking the ball in possession. We were patient and disciplined, defended the box well and defended in our half well.”

Latte Lath now has five goals in nine games since returning from injury.

Carrick said: “Manu is coming into form. He’s had a big impact, he’s had a good return and hopefully there’s a few more in him.

“Hopefully his form carries on. When you’re on that run you want to keep surfing it. He’s definitely doing that. We have two or three challenging games coming up, we’ll need that impact player around the box.”

Boro’s rivals for the play-off places – Norwich, Hull and Coventry – all won on Saturday but Carrick said his players just need to concentrate on themselves as they look to force their way into the top six.

He said: “We’re coming from behind. We’ve put a bit of a run together, we just have to try and extend that as long as we can.

“Wednesday is a new challenge and will have a bit of a say on what the picture looks like after that. We just have to keep chipping away and see how we end up.”

Swansea mustered only one shot on target at the Riverside and have now won just one of their last six games.

Williams, who took over in January after leaving Notts County, said his players need to prove they should be part of his long-term plans at the club.

He fumed: “It was just an atrocious game of football, an absolutely diabolical example of the Championship.

“It would have been nicer if we’d won, at least we could have then pretended to be happy about something, but goodness me.

“There was nothing right about that. It was like going to a charity game in the summer, no atmosphere, a bit of talking in the crowd.

“The first goal was a comedy, the second one isn’t loads better. It’s hard to find anything good about today, especially when you don’t get any points.”

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell admitted his team used the poor Dens pitch to their advantage to secure a vital 3-2 victory over Dundee in the cinch Premiership.

The game only went ahead after two pitch inspections at 11am and 1pm, with Dundee storming into a two-goal lead thanks to Jordan McGhee and Luke McCowan.

However, Motherwell made a dramatic comeback with Georgie Gent, Theo Bair and Moses Ebiye on the mark.

Kettlewell’s men were playing towards the Bob Shankly Stand in the second half and Kettlewell admitted that worked to their advantage.

The manager said: “Did we play on the conditions at that end in the second half? Yeah, that’s something we were taking into account.

“That goalmouth area, there’s a bit 20 yards out that isn’t good so we knew if we could get the ball into that area there’s the potential for slips, bad bounces that might fall in our favour.

“So we spoke about that and aiming towards it.

“Was it playable? When I walked on the pitch there were four or five areas I didn’t think were playable.

“Again I need to be consistent, I’m not going to change now.

“At no point did I speak to anyone or the officials from Dundee, I was prepared to let everyone do their job.

“I didn’t try to have an influence on anyone because we’d prepared to play here at 3pm.

“The referee felt it was playable and we were not endangering the safety of players so it was on.

“I have an opinion on a bigger scale of what I feel about getting to April and dealing with this.”

Dundee boss Tony Docherty admitted the result was a hammer blow for him and his players.

The Dark Blues were on course to secure a top-six finish with St Johnstone beating Hibs until the dramatic late collapse.

However, the manager was irate over the VAR decision that led to the penalty award for Motherwell’s first goal.

The 53-year-old said: “It’s a sore one. We’re really hurting.

“Obviously you don’t know others’ results at the time but we were 14 minutes from the top six.

“Goals change games and they get momentum from the VAR decision. I haven’t seen it back but nobody claims for the penalty.

“We were really comfortable at 2-0 so we should see the game out. Certainly the momentum swings on the VAR decision but I would trust my players to see that out.

“I won’t be critical of them because they have been brilliant all season.

“The one positive to come from the disappointing last 14 minutes is to see the league table and realise we still have an opportunity to do what we need to do.”

Manager Rob Edwards admitted to feeling “drained” after Luton scored a 90th-minute winner to come from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 at Kenilworth Road and take a huge step in the direction of Premier League survival.

Carlton Morris’s goal at the death – which was knocked in at the far post from substitute Cauley Woodrow’s cross – capped a strong second-half display from the home side and moved them level on points with 17th-place Nottingham Forest, who have a game in hand.

That footnote felt insignificant at the end as the stadium rocked with the euphoria of a first league win since Brighton were beaten here late in January.

“I’m quite drained,” said Edwards. “It’s been a tough period and it’s going to continue to be that way.

“It feels great. It’s hard to win a Premier League game, especially for us. We’ve got to find more in the remaining games.

“We put pressure on the lads after (losing against) Tottenham and Arsenal, but I thought we deserved it. We showed character and quality after going 1-0 down.”

Bournemouth had dominated the first half and struck the woodwork twice, first when James Tavernier’s free-kick crashed back off the post then again when Justin Kluivert hit the same upright with a low shot.

Luton were lacklustre and showed little in attack but inertia, but they emerged after the break with renewed life and went close through Morris, who drew a two fine saves from goalkeeper Neto.

Yet they fell behind almost immediately, Tavernier taking the ball off Kluivert in a central position and – after letting it run across his body – arrowing it into the corner.

At that point Luton might have caved, but instead they found renewed fight. Jordan Clark levelled after 73 minutes, finishing off a move he had started with a powerful run and lashing the ball home first time.

A point might have been fair, but Morris met Woodrow’s cross at the death to nick all three.

Edwards added: “It’s big. It’s hard at the moment with the number of key players missing. But that’s why I love those lads in there. They’ve given us everything, they’ve tried so hard.

“Jordan Clark, who’s got his first Premier League goal today, is like so many of our lads who have fought really hard over their footballing journey so far to get here. They don’t want to give this up.

“Just because we’ve won the game today, we’re not out of it, clearly. There’s a long, long way to go, but we’re still in the fight.”

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola, who had seen his team win four out of five in the league, reflected on a game that got away from them after the break.

“When you lose at the end, it’s hard,” he said. “It’s been the opposite in the last few games we’ve played.

“We were comfortable for the first 60 minutes, but in the second half it was difficult to find the spaces we’d been finding in the first half.”

Eddie Howe credited a change in attitude from his Newcastle players after they claimed a 1-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Bruno Guimaraes arrived late at the edge of the box to smash home in the 81st minute, not long after referee Sam Allison had ruled their first strike out for a foul.

Howe’s side failed to get going in the first half but he lauded their shift in mentality during a break in play where goalkeeper Martin Dubravka received treatment.

“I’m relieved. It was a very difficult opening 25 minutes, we were second best, we suffered,” he said.

“A change of attitude from us made the difference, we were stretched and there are reasons why we weren’t at our best in the opening period but it was an incredible response and I think it was one of our best wins of the season.

“We needed to look at things differently, we were a little bit reactive, a little bit late on things and that’s not like us. We were lucky to come into half-time at 0-0 and that was another opportunity.”

Guimaraes’ strike put him on four for the campaign and the Brazil international battled during a scrappy affair in west London.

Howe talked up the midfielder’s efforts to help his side claim victory after their 1-1 draw with Everton last time out.

“I wax lyrical of him all the time and that’s because I genuinely feel it,” Howe added.

“He’s got an incredible personality and you could feel that today. He had the quality on the ball to help us win the game and I thought that was a really good performance from him.”

Marco Silva believes Newcastle told Dubravka to go down for “tactical” reasons after the Slovakian keeper required treatment on two occasions.

Silva said: “It was tactical. The first one is clear, there was feedback for the goalkeeper to go down. As you know, if the goalkeeper goes down the referee has to stop the game, there’s no way for the game to keep going, it’s a tactical decision from them. It is what it is.

“It’s a decision of Eddie (Howe).

“Newcastle tried to break our momentum with the goalkeeper (going down) twice on the grass, they were struggling in that moment and in moments of the first half.”

Howe acknowledged the injury allowed Newcastle to “refocus and regroup”, insisting the keeper had felt something in his leg.

He said: “Martin was feeling something in his leg. We said he has to go down if he’s feeling something so that gave us a chance to get the group in and that was much needed in that moment of the game.”

Russell Martin acknowledged automatic promotion is now likely beyond Southampton after his side’s toothless display at Blackburn saw them stumble to a scoreless draw.

Having fought for a top-two finish in the Championship for much of the season, Saints’ profligacy in front of goal proved costly in the last-gasp Good Friday draw with Middlesbrough and even later loss to Ipswich on Easter Monday.

Those frustrating results were compounded by a lack of attacking spark on Saturday at Ewood Park, where fourth-placed Southampton created little against well-drilled Blackburn in a forgettable 0-0 draw.

“I was positive about the way we defended, about the clean sheet,” Saints manager Martin said.

“We’ve looked so dangerous and creative going forward recently but conceded too many goals, so we did a lot of work on that side of game.

“(I’m) pleased with that side of the game, pleased with the aggression in the team on that side of the game because it was a tough game and big credit to Blackburn.

“They’re fighting with everything they have but I’m really disappointed with the side we have been so good at recently, the creativity, the attacking flow. It wasn’t there today at all.”

Southampton’s inability to win in Lancashire further dented their hopes of automatic promotion, leaving them 12 points behind second-placed Ipswich with seven league games to go.

That run includes trips to Leicester and Leeds, with Martin looking for Saints to build momentum and peak again for the play-offs as they seek an immediate Premier League return.

“The guys still have a brilliant chance to get as many points as possible, so we can all look at each other at the end of the season and go ‘well, we did our bit, it just wasn’t to be this season’,” he said.

“We don’t deserve, none of them deserve, for the season just to finish flatly ahead of what is looking likely to be the play-offs.

“I think it’s really important we build some momentum and we go into it feeling good about ourselves, with a spring in our step and energy, and then the rest will take care of itself I’m sure.”

Saturday’s point was important for Blackburn, who dug deep having started the week with a fantastic 5-1 win at Sunderland.

The result edges John Eustace’s outfit closer to Championship survival, with Callum Brittain producing a key block to deny Kyle Walker-Peters with 10 minutes remaining.

“I thought it was an excellent game, really exciting game, good Championship game,” the Rovers boss said. “Two good teams going at it.

“I was really proud of the boys’ efforts. I thought we were outstanding with and without the ball, just disappointed that we couldn’t be a little bit more clinical in the final third.

“I think that’s the first time Southampton haven’t scored for 30 odd games, so that’s something very pleasing. It’s all the work that the boys are putting in on the training field.

“We were disappointed not to get a clean sheet on Monday but the boys have thrown their bodies on the line.

“Today, you could see that, you could see the commitment of the whole squad, the togetherness of the whole squad, which is vital at this stage of the season.”

Frustrated Nick Montgomery admitted supporter anger was understandable after Hibernian’s hopes of finishing in the top six suffered a damaging blow.

Hibs were jeered off after a surprise 2-1 defeat at home to relegation-threatened St Johnstone in which Tony Gallacher scored a late winner after Chris Cadden had cancelled out Adama Sidibeh’s opener for the Perth side.

The result did not quite kill off Hibs’ faltering top-six bid because sixth-placed Dundee suffered a 3-2 loss at home to Motherwell.

However, the Dark Blues, who remain a point ahead of the Edinburgh side, now have two bites at the cherry, against Rangers and Aberdeen, to get the points they need to finish above Hibs, who have one pre-split fixture left, away to Motherwell next Saturday.

Saturday’s results mean there is also now a scenario where the Fir Park side could pip both Hibs and Dundee to the last remaining top-six spot if they defeat Montgomery’s side in Lanarkshire.

“It was a game we knew we needed to win,” said the rueful Hibs boss. “We expected three points and everybody expected three points but that’s football, it’s a cruel game.

“We had 72 per cent possession and we lose to a team that had two shots on target.

“We have to accept that’s not good enough, two lapses of concentration in a game where you need maximum concentration.

“I can understand the frustrations. I’m frustrated, the players are frustrated – it’s a game without doubt we should have won. We have to be better in both boxes and that’s what let us down today.

“I’m frustrated for the fans because if we had won today then we would have put big pressure on the teams above us and it would have been more comfortable going into the last game.

“We have to keep going and hope results will go for us.”

The win took Saints five points clear of second-bottom Ross County in the battle to avoid the relegation play-off spot.

Manager Craig Levein was delighted to see his team dig out the result he felt they merited after an encouraging display in their 2-1 loss at home to Dundee in their previous match.

“We had a huge feeling of frustration after last week’s performance that we didn’t manage to get at least a point, maybe all three points, but we more than made up for that today with a similar performance,” said the Saints boss.

“We have been a little bit up and down but that’s us put two really good performances together in a row. We are creating chances and we are solid defensively which is not a bad combination.

“This one was big because of the points, but last week was the foundation for today.”