Russell Martin hopes Prime Minister Rishi Sunak enjoyed the show his Southampton side put on as they beat Plymouth 2-1.
Saints fan Sunak celebrated from the stands as Carlos Alcaraz and Che Adams helped the south coast side go a 17th match unbeaten to bolster their automatic promotion credentials.
Martin, who has been a member of the Green Party, said: “I hope he enjoyed himself just like anyone who comes here I hope they enjoy themselves.
“I have no interest because I’m a football manager. I’m not sure we’re aligned on too much politically but I know he’s a fan and I hope he enjoyed watching the team.
“I’m some people would be excited about him being here but we had a job to do and we were here to win a football match and we did.”
After dominating the first half which had seen Taylor Harwood-Bellis strike a post, Alcaraz curled Saints into the lead for his fourth goal of the season.
Striker Adams then capitalised on a stunning through pass from Harwood-Bellis to double the lead and keep the pressure on top two Ipswich and Leicester.
But a crazy finale, in which Ryan Hardie pegged one back after pinching the ball off goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, took the shine off the seventh straight home win.
“The last few minutes were mental,” said Martin. “We took our foot off the gas and it is frustrating.
“They’ll feel really aggrieved by the decision and it was so touch but it wouldn’t have been deserved. It was attack versus defence for so long. We should have scored before we did.
“It is a big learning curve for the lads as they should have had a clean sheet.”
Seconds before Alcaraz’s opener, Plymouth had the ball in the net after Bali Mumba had headed in on for the offside flag to go up.
Replays showed it was the incorrect decision, and Argyle’s caretaker boss Neil Dewsnip was left bereft by the call which left the Pilgrims without an away win this season.
Director of football Dewsnip, who is in the process of finding Steven Schumacher’s replacement, said: “I thought Southampton were excellent and were conscious the last two teams who came here lost by four and five.
“We had a few scary moments in the first half but a few moments where if we had a bit more quality we could have put them to the sword.
“I’m devastated for the players. I’m really disappointed about the decision. We don’t seem to get the rub of the green.
“In a world of VAR where they put the lines across the pitch, there was a line across the pitch called the six-yard box and it indicates our player was quite clearly on side.
“I don’t think (I’ll go and see the officials), I think that would just tease us.
“That’s the really annoying bit. People make mistakes but the next bit is really disappointing. They take a quick free-kick. Three of our players are celebrating a goal, should have allowed them to get goal side.
“They didn’t need to prove to me or the Green Army their resilience. We got a bit of a lucky goal but we kept going.
“We have to ask our official friends to be a bit kinder across the season.”
Mallorca 0-1 Atletico Madrid: Early Riquelme strike earns narrow win
Atletico Madrid closed in on a Champions League spot after winger Rodrigo Riquelme's early strike earned his side a 1-0 win at Mallorca in LaLiga on Saturday.
With four games remaining, Diego Simeone's side are fourth in the standings on 67 points, six ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who beat Getafe on Friday.
There was an end-of-the-season feel at a half-empty Son Moix stadium with both teams lacking urgency in a lacklustre match, with the only standout moment being Riquelme's fine individual effort in the fifth minute, which ultimately secured the win for the visitors.
Riquelme pounced on a loose ball in the edge of the box and cleared two defenders before unleashing an unstoppable strike just inside the right post.
Data Debrief: Mallorca's blunt attack easily stopped
Mallorca mustered an expected goals of just 0.24 in this game, and they have now failed to score in 15 of their 34 league games this season. Only Cadiz (17) have failed to score more often in the competition this term.
That is despite the hosts having attempted 526 passes in this game, their highest total in a single league match this season.
Sassuolo 1-0 Inter: Serie A champions suffer surprise defeat
Inter suffered only their second defeat in Serie A this season as a first-half goal by Armand Lauriente gave relegation-threatened Sassuolo a crucial 1-0 victory.
Sassuolo have a unique hold over Simone Inzaghi's side this season, as the only team to beat Inter in the league, having secured a 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture in September.
The result was a big boost in Sassuolo's battle against relegation, as they sit second from bottom on 29 points, with only three points between them and Cagliari in 14th place.
Lauriente got the only goal of the match after 20 minutes when Josh Doig managed to wrestle the ball back from Denzel Dumfries near the corner flag and pulled it back, with Sassuolo's matchwinner on hand to slot into the net from close range.
Data Debrief: Long time coming
This was the first time Inter have lost a league match against a team in the bottom two of the standings since way back in November 2014. On that occasion, they went down 2-0 to Parma.
Lauriente, meanwhile, has scored four Serie A goals since the beginning of April, a joint-record in the period in the top-flight (level with Hakan Calhanoglu).
Xavi insists there is 'no debate' over his Barcelona future
Xavi insisted there is "no debate" over his future at Barcelona after the Blaugrana's title hopes were dashed by Girona.
Barca lost 4-2 to Girona on Saturday, ensuring Real Madrid were crowned LaLiga champions.
Xavi, having initially elected to leave the club at the end of the season, last month performed a U-turn on that decision, confirming he would stay on until at least the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Yet that did not stop the Barca coach facing questions over his role in Saturday's post-match news conference.
"There is no debate over my future," Xavi told reporters, before expanding on his feelings after the defeat.
"I am sad, disappointed. We have experienced both sides of the coin. Ineffectiveness have killed us once and again.
"I'm the first to be angry, to be p***** off with this situation, I understand the fans. Before being a coach, I was a fan. I understand our people's frustration."
Barca are now in third place and, with four matches remaining, must now rely on Girona slipping up if they are to have any chance of contesting the Supercopa de Espana next season, with a trophyless campaign guaranteed this time around.
Girona, on the other hand, sealed Champions League qualification for the first time in their history.
Portu came off the bench to score twice in Saturday's win, and he gave an emotional interview in the wake of the victory.
"It's incredible to look at your shirt and experience this. There is nothing more beautiful than living this," Portu told DAZN with tears rolling down his face.
"I had a thorn in my side with this club. A few years ago, I experienced the other side, which was relegation and I felt very responsible because I played a lot. Today I made amends with the fans and I can smile again."
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