Russell Martin said the Sky Bet Championship automatic promotion race “dynamic” has changed after Southampton’s 3-0 domination of Preston.
Saints had looked destined for a play-off place after three defeats in four games during February, but three home wins in seven days has them just four points off the top two.
A Che Adams brace and Stuart Armstrong’s fourth goal of the season sealed the points on Tuesday and Saints boss Martin said: “I think it was a brilliant performance with some really beautiful stuff.
“It has been a big week for us. It has changed the dynamic. We were written off some point ago but the players have stuck at it and been resilient.
“We have the opportunity to take the points off teams around us but if we have to take care of the next one against Cardiff and if we don’t then the others become a bit pointless.”
Adams opened the scoring in the 19th minute when he tapped in Adam Armstrong’s centre for his 100th career goal.
He doubled his tally by finishing a fine team move with a cool finish before Stuart Armstrong capitalised on a defensive howler to smash in.
The only taint on the evening was an Achilles injury to goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu in the warm-up that looks to have ended his season.
Martin, who promoted Alex McCarthy, said: “He has felt something in his Achilles and will have a scan tomorrow. We don’t expect to see him any time soon and we’ll give him all the support he needs.
“Al has trained so well. He has travelled everywhere and trained like a beast. We’ve seen what Joe (Lumley) can do and has done really well and we wanted to see Al. It was a feeling I had in my gut at the time.”
But Martin added on the performance of Adams, who he subbed off before he could score a hat-trick: “He has just threatened to beat me up out there! We had a hug and a laugh and he understands why I had to take him off.
“He looks like he is going to score all the time at the moment.”
Preston had the third lowest expected goals of the Championship season with 0.07 and manager Ryan Lowe said: “The be all and end all was the first half has cost us. The game plan that we set out to do in the first half was nowhere near.
“The game was probably over at half-time at 3-0. You can’t give a team like Southampton chances like that because they’re a fantastic team.
“The game plan was to try and nullify their strengths and capitalise on their weaknesses and we didn’t really do either.
“They could end up going up automatically, if not they’re going to be a real force in the play-offs.”
Ancelotti defends Kroos substitution against Bayern Munich
Carlo Ancelotti defended his decision to substitute Toni Kroos during Real Madrid's 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich.
The two European heavyweights shared the spoils in a thrilling Champions League semi-final first leg at the Allianz Arena, where Vinicius Junior's late penalty levelled the tie.
Vinicius had opened the scoring in the 24th minute after latching onto Kroos' delicious throughball, one of a game-high 15 line-breaking passes the Germany midfielder played during the first half.
The 34-year-old was replaced by Brahim Diaz for the final 14 minutes of the contest, which Bayern had turned around thanks to second-half strikes from Leroy Sane and Harry Kane.
But Ancelotti, who knows the support of Madrid's fans will be crucial when he welcomes his former club to Santiago Bernabeu for next week's second leg, explained his thinking.
"Jude Bellingham had cramp, Toni Kroos played a spectacular game, but the plan was to try to recover the control of the game by putting fresh legs in," the Italian told reporters during his post-match press conference.
"As always, at this point in the season, we have a great opportunity to play in another final. It's an even tie against a great team. It will be another 90 minutes of suffering, but in an atmosphere that we know quite well. The fans are going to help us."
Meanwhile, Thomas Tuchel knows Bayern will have their work cut out in the second leg, but has encouraged his players to be confident and embrace the challenge.
"The situation is now very clear," he said. "We go to Madrid and the winner takes it all. We are ready to fight. It is important to believe that.
"It is still possible. It is 50-50. It is one of the toughest places to win, but that is also what makes this challenge exciting."
Manchester United clearout continues as two more senior boardroom figures depart
Manchester United have continued their clearout under Jim Ratcliffe by confirming the departures of Patrick Stewart and Cliff Baty.
Interim chief executive Stewart and chief financial officer Baty will depart Old Trafford at the end of the current campaign.
Stewart, who replaced Richard Arnold in the position at the start of the year, will be temporarily replaced by Jean-Claude Blanc until Omar Berrada arrives in July, while Roger Bell will take over from Baty.
The news was confirmed by United on their official website on Tuesday.
INEOS Sport chief Blanc is well known to Ratcliffe, who recently bought a 27.7-per-cent stake in United and is in control of footballing affairs.
Bell also has ties to INEOS and will now take up the same CFO role at Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe said: "I would like to personally thank both Patrick and Cliff for their support in helping us get to know the club and making us feel welcome and I respect their decisions to now move on as we establish a new management team for the club."
Executive co-chairman Joel Glazer said: "I would like to thank Patrick and Cliff for their dedicated service to Manchester United and wish them well for the future.
"Both have been a source of invaluable advice and expertise over many years, and Patrick has served an important role as interim CEO during this transitional phase."
Since Ratcliffe purchased a minority stake in United, the club have made a number of other changes behind the scenes.
John Murtough stepped down as football director after more than a decade at the club, with Dan Ashworth lined up to replace him, while Jason Wilcox has been appointed as technical director.
United are sixth in the Premier League with four games remaining, raising questions over the future of manager Erik ten Hag under the new regime.
Bayern were victims of Real Madrid's lethal efficiency, says Tuchel
Bayern Munich were victims of Real Madrid's lethal efficiency in Tuesday's 2-2 draw but the Germans are ready to beat them in next week's Champions League semi-final return leg, says coach Thomas Tuchel.
The Bavarians struck twice in four minutes early in the second half with a shot from Leroy Sane and a Harry Kane penalty to turn the game around after Vinicius Junior had put the visitors ahead in the 24th against the run of play.
Brazilian striker Vinicius also bagged an equaliser with an 83rd-minute spot kick as Bayern were pushing for a third goal.
Tuchel felt Bayern were in a strong position to stretch their lead going into the closing stages, but instead they will travel to Madrid next Wednesday with the tie all square.
"The result is what it is and it is not worth spending any time thinking about it," Tuchel, who will leave Bayern at the end of the season after a disappointing domestic campaign, said at his post-match press conference.
"Real have done it before, to score twice with two chances.
"We are not the first team to suffer that. They have the finish, they have the quality to do that."
Reflecting on the match, Tuchel added: "We had a strong start, then we lost a bit of our rhythm.
"Then [later in the game] we should have scored a third, but we were not efficient enough, not cold enough to add a third. Then we gifted them a penalty."
Bayern enjoyed a strong start and also had chances to score again after going 2-1 up.
They will now need to win against Real, who are chasing a 15th European Cup, in Madrid if they are to advance to the final at Wembley.
Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain face each other in the other semi-final, with the first leg of that tie taking place on Wednesday.
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