DAVE JONES will be cracking the whip in training this week to ensure there is no let-up ahead of Saturday's crunch game at Wimbledon.

He knows his Saints side have given themselves an excellent chance of avoiding the drop with their 2-1 win over Leicester which lifted them out of the bottom three for the first time all season.

That has sent a massive buzz through the city as fans begin to sense another great escape but boss Jones (right) is warning his players to guard against complacency which could now be their biggest pitfall.

He said: "We have put ourselves in a great position - but we cannot afford to let all this hard work go to waste. We have to keep it going in our final two games.

"We cannot afford to think we have done the hard part just because we have finally got out of the relegation zone.

"We have had five or six chances in recent weeks to climb out of the bottom three but this is the first time we've actually done it.

"We cannot let this chance go. We have to stay totally focused on the task for two more games and if we win both I believe that will be enough."

Although Saints' fate is technically still not in their own hands, they know if they take maximum points from their final two matches then Blackburn would have to win all three of theirs including a tough clash at home to Manchester United.

Jones and his men will have the backing of 9,000 fans at Wimbledon. The Dell have sold their full allocation which will give them all of one side at Selhurst Park.

Southampton have been told there are no more seats available and the match has been made all-ticket with fans being warned not to travel without a ticket as they will not get in.

The Saints Travel Club have been forced to close their bookings after using up every available vehicle. They are running 45 coaches, subsidised by the club at £5 for non-members or free for members.

Jones added: "I believe there is not a coach or mini-bus available in the south which is great news. I have always said that the kind of good support we have warrants a good result.

"That is what the fans demand, that is what I demand and that is what the players will be demanding of themselves."

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.