Mark Hughes calls on Southampton to 'roll their sleeves up'
Friday 6 April 2018 15:57, UK
Mark Hughes says his Southampton players must 'roll their sleeves up' and show a positive attitude if they are to avoid relegation.
Saints are 18th in the Premier League table and face the daunting task of travelling to face Arsenal at the Emirates in Sunday's Sky live clash.
The Gunners are unbeaten in their last 22 home league games against Southampton, who have not won in the Premier League since February 3.
But Hughes remains optimistic that his side can bounce back against Arsenal following their recent 3-0 defeat to West Ham.
He said: "I expect a reaction from the team. We need to be more resilient when momentum goes against us.
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"I've told them this week what is acceptable in games and what isn't.
"We've got to go there and get a positive result. The bare minimum is a good performance for the travelling Saints fans and to be positive in our outlook.
"West Ham was something that we can learn from, now we know what is ahead of us in terms of Arsenal, and clearly we can't dwell on performances like West Ham.
"You have got to draw a line under it and take the lessons learn't from it and move on to the next one.
"There is a little bit of an issue with our confidence and you can understand it to a certain extent.
"Seven games left and a lot of points, we are not cast adrift and it's not as if it's a situation that is not able to be turned around.
"That's how we view it - we have a talented group here, the vast majority were part of the team that got to eighth last year. We have the talent to win games at this level and that's what we will try to do.
"The last two Premier League games we shipped six without reply so we want to do something about that and we have the means to do it.
"We need to roll our sleeves up and do the right things."
Hughes, who has also managed Blackburn, Manchester City, Fulham, QPR and Stoke, has never been relegated from the Premier League during his managerial career and is refusing to let the idea enter his mind.
He added: "We are in a situation that nobody anticipated - I have only been hear a short time and we have to forget what went on in the past and deal with then here and now. This time of the year effects everybody.
"I have never been involved in relegation and it doesn't enter my mind, it's all about winning games."
