Southampton manager Nigel Adkins has insisted that his side will bounce back quickly from today's FA Cup drubbing at the hands of Chelsea.

The cup holders fell behind early on at St Mary's but ran riot in the second half to storm home by a margin of five goals to one.

Adkins admitted that Rafael Benitez's side proved too strong after the interval but backed his team to respond in a positive manner and focus on the fight for Premier League survival.

He told the club's official website: "We did ever so well for 44 minutes. We had a good start to the game and it was a good goal from Jay Rodriguez.

"In the second half we came up against the Cup holders and European Champions who were the team very much in form in the second half. It is fair to say that in the second half Chelsea were the better side and deserved the victory in the end.

"We will move on. We have been on a good run of form and playing some good football, which I think was demonstrated in the first half."

Demba Ba had an immediate impact on his Chelsea debut, scoring twice to take the plaudits on a day to forget for the South Coast club.

Saints come up against the Blues again in 10 days' time in a rescheduled league match at Stamford Bridge.