Jason Dodd admits he would love his Southampton players to repeat their performance in the last round when they face Charlton Athletic in The FA Youth Cup on Wednesday night.
The Saints produced one of the most eye-catching results of the competition when they thrashed local rivals Portsmouth 7-0 to book their place in the Fourth Round.
Sam Gallagher, who appeared for the senior side in their 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Tuesday, bagged a hat-trick against Pompey that night. Jake Hasketh, Niall Mason and Mark Irvine also worked their way onto the score-sheet.
Southampton v Charlton Athletic
The FA Youth Cup
Fourth Round proper
7.00pm, Wednesday 29 January 2014
St. Mary's, Southampton
Dodd knows it will be tough to replicate such a result but feels confidence is high among his young charges.
He said: "It would be nice [to repeat the Portsmouth display]. That's probably one of the best performances I've had since I've been at the club.
"It'll be tough but I don't see why not - they've set the standard, they've set the bar.
"They're up for it as you can imagine at the moment.
"Everyone wants to be playing, so the training sessions at the moment are high-tempo and they're trying to stake a claim to play."
Dodd's youngsters will have the chance to play in front of their own supporters at St Mary's on Wednesday.
The ex-Saints defender feels it will provide a good test for those players who have aspirations of following the likes of Luke Shaw and James Ward-Prowse into Mauricio Pochettino's first team in the near future.
Southampton's Sam Gallagher
He added: "It's going to be at St Mary's with a bit of pressure because there'll be fans there.
"This is how we find out about our players and to see if they're going to progress up to the development and first team squads."
Dodd is also aware that Charlton will be no pushovers, citing their impressive record this season.
He said: "We know Charlton are a really good side. I think they've only lost one game all season, so it tells you they're in decent form. They've got a couple of international players.
"They're what you expect from Charlton. They're big and physical but they try to play as well. They've got some really good players, but I want that. It's a test."
