Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino, speaking through a translator, said: "I'm very proud [of Ferguson's praise]. It's very important for my players to hear. But we leave with no points. We did play well but I'm upset at not getting a draw at least. It doesn't console me.
"I think in the second half we played as we should have done for the whole game. I think it's important for the team to know we can play that well."