Davis wants Southampton to seek inspiration from Leicester
(Reuters) - Southampton skipper Steven Davis hopes his team can take inspiration from Leicester City and push hard to qualify for Europe over the final games of the campaign.
Leicester have been the surprise package of the season and currently lead the standings by two points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, with a game in hand over the north London club.
"I think it gives other teams inspiration," Davis told reporters after his team beat Stoke City 2-1 on Saturday to climb two places to seventh in the Premier League table, five points behind fifth-placed West Ham United.
"What they have done is incredible this year, to show that kind of consistency. Maybe it gives everybody else that incentive that they can achieve something like that."
Teams that end the season in the top five in England qualify for Europe, with the top four entering the Champions League and the team in fifth making it to the Europa League, along with the winners of the FA Cup and League Cup.
Southampton qualified for the Europa League at the end of last season only to be knocked out of the competition at the group stages, and Davis is keen for the club to improve next term.
"Having put ourselves in such a good position last year with all the hard work, it was really disappointing to go out before the group stages. It would be nice to go one better," he said.
(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)