Mauricio Pochettino again found himself having to fend off questions about his future after Saints’ 1-0 win at Swansea.

A statement by Les Reed just over a week ago took the heat off of Pochettino temporarily.

But with the season running towards a close, the manager’s contract situation is back in the headlines with Tottenham again said to be eyeing a move for the Saints boss.

Pochettino has one year left to run on his contract and there is little chance of talks taking place over extending it before the end of the campaign.

Many of the club’s senior players have made it clear they wish Pochettino to stay, with fans fearing a domino effect out of the St Mary’s exit door if the manager doesn’t commit soon.

“I am not really one to talk about my personal situation. I don’t really like to talk about my own contractual situation,” said Pochettino.

“I am just focussed on being the manager of this team and doing what’s best for this team. “I am focussed completely on the competition.

“I understand all the rumours surrounding me and the future of a lot of players but, as Les Reed mentioned last week, these things will be spoken about at the end of the season.”

When pushed further, he added: “It’s only normal that these things are going to come up.

“I still have one more year left on my contract and it’s only logical that these rumours are going to come up, all this talk about the future is going to come up.

“For the moment we are just busy planning the pre-season and looking ahead to the future.”

Having had a good season this time out, there is a hope that Saints will build for a brighter future.

Pochettino will not set any targets, until he knows the reality of what has happened during the summer.

He said: “Once we play the last game of the season, and also the summer has gone by and we have done the entire pre-season, then we will be able to set ourselves the proper goals we are able to go for next season.”