When the news broke that Southampton had been charged with spying on Middlesbrough ahead of their Championship play-off clash, you might have expected the Saints' dressing room to be in turmoil. Not so, according to midfielder Caspar Jander.

"This wasn't really a big topic for me and for the team," Jander told BBC Radio Solent, dismissing the controversy that had erupted just hours before kick-off. The English Football League (EFL) had charged Southampton on Friday after a performance analyst was alleged to have recorded Boro's training session and snapped photos of their tactics on Thursday morning.

The tension was palpable on Saturday as Southampton's team bus arrived at the Riverside Stadium, greeted by chants of "cheats" and abuse from the home crowd. But inside, the players were locked in on the task at hand. "We didn't make it a big thing," Jander added. "We didn't really care about it and just tried to play football."

And play football they did. Despite absorbing heavy pressure from Middlesbrough in the first half, Southampton dug in and finished the match strongly, securing a hard-fought 0-0 draw. The result leaves everything to play for in Tuesday's second leg at St Mary's Stadium, where the winner will punch their ticket to the Championship play-off final.

"I think we can be happy about the result. It was a very difficult first half," Jander reflected. "In the end, with a little bit of luck, we could have even won. But we take the 0-0 for now and go again on Tuesday."

The German midfielder, who joined Southampton from FC Nuremberg last summer, acknowledged the team's tactical adjustments after the break. "We didn't want to stay so low in our half and let them have so many chances, but we changed some things for the second half that made us stronger."

With 42 appearances and two goals under his belt this season, Jander has become a key figure in Southampton's promotion push. As the Saints prepare to host Middlesbrough in front of their home fans, the message from the dressing room is clear: stay focused, stay confident, and let the football do the talking. "We can go confident at St Mary's and take the win there," Jander insisted.

For Southampton, the only thing that matters now is securing that spot in the final—spying allegations or not.