Southampton manager Ruben Selles has told his team they must beat Nottingham Forest on Monday.
The Saints are six points from safety heading into the Premier League clash with the Reds who are also in the relegation zone. Forest could move out of the bottom three with a win after Leeds 2-1 defeat at Manchester City over the weekend.
Steve Cooper's side lost 2-1 at Brentford last time out but earned a vital three points in their previous home match, a 3-1 win over high-flying Brighton. The victory over the Seagulls ended an 11-game winless run.
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And ahead of Monday's relegation six-pointer at the City Ground, the Southampton boss wants his side to embrace the pressure of such a crucial game as they look to retain their top-flight status.
“I think we have been very realistic of our situation from the beginning and the players have also been realistic, they put their thought and honesty into us,” Selles said. “It’s a must-win, we know what sort of game it is.
"But again we talk always about habits and the habit for us is to play with that pressure on ourselves. Because in the last five games, we talk about if we win one game then we’ll be back in the battle and we’re trying to do that with better performances and sometimes they are not that good and we need to do exactly the same in those terms.”
Southampton are without a win since March 4 as they face the prospect of playing in the Championship for the first time since 2012.
Selles added: “We need to go into Monday night and know it’s an important game for us and go for it from the very beginning. This is the mentality and this is what I want the team to show every single game and that’s why we want to fight.
“This is the competitiveness of the Premier League we are still there. We didn’t have the best April but it is not only difficult for us, it is difficult for everybody.”
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