Saints assistant coy over Clattenburg reports

The south-coast outfit are reported to have written to the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) following alleged insulting comments made by Clattenburg to midfielder Adam Lallana during the 2-1 defeat at Everton last weekend.

Southampton are rumoured to have asked for an apology and requested the 38-year-old official does not take charge of any of their games while the claims are investigated.

Speaking at a press conference on the eve of the FA Cup third-round tie against Burnley, Perez was reluctant to discuss the issue.

He said: "I won't talk about this situation. I prefer to stay away from this and just focus on the game on Saturday,

"This type of situation doesn't help us in this moment, for this game. It's away, and we'll see in the next couple of days what's happening with this.

"I read it this morning (Friday); when you are in the games sometimes you can see or hear something, but history has led me to stay away from these things.

"Our way always is when the game is over, it's time to think about the next game.

"So our full focus is to prepare well for the next game, then to ensure we're in best condition for the next match.

"That's our style since we came to England. When you are in this business you have to be aware everything is possible.

"We're in the best league, the best environment, in terms of business and media, so we have to respect everything because everyone is proud of this business.

"So it's not difficult for us: we focus and we put our players away from the problems and just think about the football."