Southampton are using their time off this weekend by going to their training camp in La Manga to recharge their batteries. Gordon Strachan said: "The FA Cup defeat allows us to give the players a few days off and it's a chance for them to recharge their batteries.
"We had a look at the weather forecast and, as it's not very good for this week, decided it would be nice for the players to have a couple of days doing nothing in some warmer weather."
Captain Jason Dodd said:
"We had an idea this would be happening on Friday and, after the first 10 minutes at Liverpool on Saturday, we all thought we would be going to Skegness not La Manga.
"It will be a great opportunity to recharge the batteries. We have had a sackload of games so it will be good to get away with the lads, do some training, and get ourselves ready for the next 15 games."
Strachan told the official site: "There are two reasons for going. The long-term weather forecast is for there to be a lot of rain this week and the training ground is cutting up a bit.
"We don't want to be ploughing through the mud and coaching for the sake of it. It is much better to work on decent surfaces with good facilities."But the other reason is that the players need a rest both mentally and physically. We will have a couple of days doing absolutely nothing. They can read books and just relax.
"Then we will have a couple of training sessions once the players have recharged their batteries so they will still be working hard.
"It is a case of re-energising them. They can still work and run but they need a break because they have put so much into the last few weeks.
"It will also be a chance to talk with them individually or in twos and threes or as a group and that will be good for us."