Southampton defender Cédric believes the character and mentality that the players showed at Wembley can take them a long way in the Premier League, if they can keep it up.
Saints were beaten 3-2 in the EFL Cup final by Manchester United, but left feeling their efforts deserved far more than what they got.
Despite the heartbreak, Cédric says it is time to move on and that the belief and spirit they showed in overcoming a cruelly disallowed goal and clawing their way back from 2-0 down to nearly win needs to now be carried forward into the league, where they will look to climb back up the table from their current position of 13th.
"I think it was a great response here – a good answer on the pitch," said the right-back, whose focus now turns to Saturday's visit to Watford, who are one point and one place above Saints in the table.
"I think we should bring it to the Premier League as well, and keep a good run in the Premier League.
"We definitely need some points to go up to where we are normally used to being.
"This is our goal, and this is our target now in our heads, and I think if we keep the same mentality for sure we are going to be happy."
While the incredible scenes created by the supporters on such a special occasion cannot be expected to be replicated on a week-by-week basis, Cédric also encouraged the fans to continue to show the same sort of phenomenal faith and backing that they displayed at Wembley.
"They were incredible," he said. "They made themselves heard.
"You are focused on the game, but we definitely felt this energy from them. They were fantastic, they were great, and I hope they will keep like this, because we definitely need them."
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