Saints players unaffected by spying claims - Jander
Southampton's Caspar Jander says his club being charged with spying on Middlesbrough was 'not a big topic' for the players before their play-off match.
Caspar Jander (right) featured in Southampton's draw with Middlesbrough [Shutterstock] Southampton midfielder Caspar Jander insists the club being charged with spying on Middlesbrough was 'not a big topic' for the players before their play-off match at the Riverside Stadium. Saints were charged by the English Football League on Friday after BBC Sport learned that a performance analyst was alleged to have recorded Boro training and taken pictures of tactics on Thursday morning. The news impacted the atmosphere on Saturday morning, with Southampton's coach the target of abuse and chants of "cheats" as they arrived at the ground.
But Jander told BBC Radio Solent: "This wasn't really a big topic for me and for the team. "We didn't make it a big thing. We didn't really care about it and just tried to play football.
" The game ended 0-0, with Saints having to absorb plenty of Middlesbrough pressure early on before finishing the game strongly. The second leg is on Tuesday, when Boro will travel to St Mary's and the teams will compete for a place in the Championship play-off final. "I think we can be happy about the result.
It was a very difficult first half," Jander added. "In the end, with a little bit of luck, we could have even won. But we take the 0-0 for now and go again on Tuesday.