Nigel Adkins backs old club Southampton to finish in Premier League top 10 this season Southampton have beaten Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea under new manager Mauricio Pochettino, but were already on a run of only two defeats in 12 matches before Adkins was sacked two months ago. Adkins's new Reading team face Southampton on Saturday and, despite stressing that the players rather than either manager deserved the credit for their form, he pointed out that his training had always been structured to ensure a strong finish to the season. "I think they will finish in the top 10," said Adkins. The players there are doing ever so well. We had a lot of belief in what we would achieve this season and that is being brought out and great credit to the players. We knew that we had a periodised training programme and we were going to get fitter and fitter as the season went on and that has proved to be the case. We knew we had good players and we were on a good run when we had a change. We were on that forward cycle, so great credit to the players. There is a good spirit and they have kept going. We had a good belief that Southampton would be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. Asked if it was mostly his hard work that had put Southampton in the position they are in, Adkins, who led the team to back-to-back promotions, said: "Well, we were at the football club for two-and-a-half years. All the credit goes to the players, because they're the ones who have got to cross the white line. We were down the bottom of League One when we started off and the guys have done fantastic. Adkins has already written a message of welcome to Pochettino in his programme notes for tomorrow's game and says there will be no personal animosity. "Like every opposition team we always invite them in for a drink afterwards," he said. You have to move forward. You can either dwell on the past or get on with things. We had a fantastic journey there and that can never be taken away.