Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's message ahead of Southampton's Leeds United Wembley showdown

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has taken to Twitter to underline his excitement for next week's Championship play-off final between Leeds United and Southampton. Sunak is known to be a Southampton fan and he made the journey to St Mary's to watch Russell Martin's side face West Bromwich Albion in their semi-final second leg on Friday night.

The Saints, who drew 0-0 with West Brom at The Hawthorns in the first leg, ran out 3-1 victors on the night to book their place at Wembley, much to the delight of the prime minister.

After what was a tense first half on the south coast, Will Smallbone opened the scoring in the 49th minute of the game and in doing so opened the contest up, allowing Adam Armstrong to bag a second half brace and finish the Baggies off. The West Midlands outfit had enough left in them to score through Cedric Kipre in stoppage time but it was nothing more than a consolation.

The full-time whistle prompted a pitch invasion as Southampton fans celebrated the fact their side are potentially now just 90 minutes from a return to the top flight and it's that image that Sunak has posted on social media, with the Conservative party leader pictured in the stands at St Mary's.

"Still buzzing," Sunak wrote on Twitter. "We’re going to Wembley!"

Indeed, Wembley is where Southampton will meet Leeds United for the right to play in next season's Premier League. The pair were relegated from the top flight last season but only one will be able to bounce back immediately, with the loser of the May 26 clash having to come to terms with at least one more season of second tier football.

Sunak will no doubt hope to be able to make enough space in his diary to make the trip to the national stadium and support his Saints.

Follow Farke’s side and the latest news with the Yorkshire Evening Post’s free Leeds United email newsletter.

Last night's victory was enough for Southampton owner Dragan Solak to speak out, too, with a message to the club's supporters.

"It's super special and it's special because we see the happy faces," he told the Daily Echo. "For the Southampton fans and for me, it's an unbelievable feeling.

"We did discuss that we went to the game at West Brom and their fans were unbelievable and we said we need to match that. We needed to give the same energy to our lads and I think that Phil Parsons and the rest of the management - they put a huge effort.

"They put a huge effort through you guys as well and you know the fans came back and they said 'Yeah, let's do it', so it was unbelievable."

On the upcoming trip to Wembley, he added: "I can only hope they do what they did tonight. That is put their best effort there and leave their hearts out. We'll be there for them and you know, let's hope for the best."