#PLStories- James Ward-Prowse looks for positive end to Southampton season despite crashing out of FA Cup #SAINTSFC

SAINTS skipper James Ward-Prowse has insisted “we can still make the season a very positive one” following his side’s exit in the FA Cup quarter-final. The 27-year-old midfielder travels to join up with Gareth Southgate’s England squad off the back of a four-match losing streak with the St Mary’s outfit. Manchester City denied Ralph Hasenhuttl and his charges a second consecutive Wembley Stadium trip with a 4-1 victory last weekend, despite running a close contest for over an hour. Prior to that, Premier League defeats to Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Watford had put a big dent in the hopes of a top-half finish for the first time under the Austrian boss. Ralph Hasenhuttl faces a difficult task to land a top-half finish (Pic: Stuart Martin) All momentum of a seven-match unbeaten run was cut short with a humiliating 4-0 hammering at Villa Park, in which former star Danny Ings got on the scoresheet in his first meeting with Saints since leaving last summer. However, Ward-Prowse insists he is still ambitious of ending the season strong. Speaking to the Daily Echo, following the FA Cup exit, he said: “I think prior to the day we knew the position we were in - quarter-final of the FA Cup and 11th in the league. “Unfortunately, the cup competition has come to an end but we’re still 11th. “We still have a good handful of games to play and points to win and we can still make the season a very positive one and finish inside that top 10.” James Ward-Prowse is without a Premier League goal in over two months (Pic: PA) Nine Premier League matches remain for Saints to table a first top-half finish of Hasenhuttl's tenure, with Leicester City and Steven Gerrard's Villans one point ahead. Saints could have set themselves up for a Wembley date with Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final, but for a second-half performance of real quality and intent from Pep Guardiola’s City. Kevin De Bruyne capitalised on a Mohammed Salisu error to bury a penalty and restore the English champions’ lead, before substitutes Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez made Che Adams’ close-range miss pay with goals of their own. City had not found a way to defeat Hasenhuttl’s side in the Premier League this campaign, with 0-0 and 1-1 draws respectively, but were able to turn it on for the big moment. Kyle Walker-Peters scored in the 1-1 draw between the two sides in January (Pic: Stuart Martin) “It’s disappointing to lose in the way that we did,” Ward-Prowse admitted. “I think we showed the strength that we’ve got against the ball and created some good chances ourselves. “Against the big teams, you have to be solid, you’ve got to have a bit of luck and you can’t give too much away either. And in the end we gave away too much and they punished us.” He added: “It’s a combination of a few things. When you create chances you have to take them - especially against the top teams. “It (the Che Adams chance at 2-1) was a key moment in the game. “Obviously the penalty changed the game completely but then we’ve had a chance straight after to hopefully get back into it.”