Alan Pardew does not want the FA Cup fixture to disrupt Saints' league progress ahead of the trip to Brentford.

The fifth round tie with Portsmouth has taken much of the limelight in the build up to the Club's League One encounter at Griffin Park, but the manager hopes that the Cup compliments what Saints are trying to do rather than disrupt it.

"It's about what we are trying to achieve. Yes, we want to win every game, yes the mentality has changed, but are we any nearer the playoffs than we were six games ago? No. We are kind of having a little bit of a stall, we keep having these Cup games where things are going great, but the League programme is something that has to be our number one focus," he said.

"The next four or five League games are going to be very, very important as they are going to be around two big Cup games for us, so the whole season, as well as we did Saturday could still unfold around us and we don't want that to happen.

"We want to keep the mentality that we have in the group, the work ethic and our fans where they are now - with a big smile on their faces and enjoying coming and watching us play.

"If you were to say to me which game would I rather win, I would pick this one (Brentford) of course because it is important to the mentality of the team that we are still within touching distance of the playoffs.

"If we lose this game and the top teams around us win then it will make it that more difficult. We have to go on a really big run to get into the playoffs as it is and we can't afford to lose games, especially at this critical time.

"I look at this game as one of the toughest ones, Brentford away is never easy, the pitch is tough, I was there last week against Doncaster when they played, and we are going to have to play a certain brand of football to win there.

"That's what good teams can do, they can change their game and play in all sorts of scenarios, well believe you and me we are going to need a good support at Brentford and we are going to have to play a really tough game to get through that fixture.

"I can think of Aston Villa, leading against Blackburn and ending up 2-0 down in the second leg as a worry for the MK Dons match, I can think of Leeds when they beat Manchester United and haven't won a League game since, so I am well aware of how it can affect my players. I don't want to be answering questions after the game against Brentford and after Saturday if I can't get this team to win both games, about the mentality of my team, as on paper they should win, so that's where I am, very different to a fan."

The gaffer hinted at making changes to his team from Saturday's line up, which was boosted by the FA's decision to rescind Morgan Schneiderlin's suspension earlier today.

"We have two big games this week in the League, and I think I'll use about 14 players in those two games so we'll possibly make changes. We have all reported in fit this morning, Wayne Thomas had a little bit of fluid on his knee, Lee Holmes had a little niggle, but we think he'll be fine."