Southampton - Ipswich preview - Koeman dreaming of Wembley glory

Ronald Koeman knows Southampton face a long road to Wembley, but that will not stop the Dutch coach dreaming of lifting the FA Cup there in the May sunshine.

The Saints host Sky Bet Championship promotion chasers Ipswich on Sunday looking to build on their New Year's Day victory over Arsenal which kept them fourth in the Barclays Premier League.

Along with thousands of other football fans in the Netherlands, Koeman grew up watching the famous old competition on television and, having taken over at St Mary's in the summer, the former Barcelona European Cup winner cannot wait for his first live taste of FA Cup action.

"When I was a young kid watching the FA Cup finals in Holland, it was always a special day and maybe if I have one of the dreams, then maybe it is a dream to be playing in an FA Cup final," said Koeman.

"I spoke once to Ruud Gullit (about it), and he had one FA Cup final as the manager with Chelsea, and it was very special (for him).

"But it is a long way to Wembley, we will have to beat a lot of teams, so it all starts on Sunday."

Koeman is not expecting to make any major changes for Sunday's tie, having fielded strong sides in their run to the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup.

Southampton will have done their homework on Ipswich as Koeman looks to build some momentum in 2015.

"We have to analyse the games of Ipswich to prepare the players," he said.

"It will be tough against Ipswich, they are a good team, a strong opponent and one of the leaders in the Championship.

"Every game we take seriously, we did that in the League Cup, and we will do it in the FA Cup.

"I hate losing, the team is good, the freshness of the players is very positive."

Koeman continued: "We gave the youngsters already some minutes in the Premier League, it is not different.

"I gave (defender) Matthew Targett the confidence and the time to play in the League Cup, but I believe in young players.

"I don't like to change the side a lot because I believe in the spirit of the team and what we are doing now."

Southampton, meanwhile, have yet to confirm the extent of the injury suffered by midfielder Sadio Mane against Arsenal.

The Senegal international limped off having put the Saints into the lead, and was set to leave for the African Nations Cup this weekend.

Mick McCarthy must decide whether to bring Tyrone Mings back into the Ipswich side.

The highly-rated full-back missed two wins with an infected toe and was an unused substitute for Tuesday's 3-0 defeat of Charlton after being deemed fit to return.

With a number of Premier League clubs reportedly monitoring the 21-year-old, it will be interesting to see if McCarthy allows Mings to become cup-tied at St Mary's Stadium.

Luke Hyam is also available again after an Achilles problem, but Noel Hunt has returned to Leeds following the conclusion of his loan spell.