MAYA Yoshida admits he couldn't get a wink of sleep after Saints' costly defeat to today's FA Cup semi-final opponents Chelsea a week ago.

As he battled to come to terms with the costly 3-2 loss in the Premier League at St Mary's, the Japan international had an uncomfortable and restless night.

After being 2-0 goals ahead, three goals in eight minutes by Antonio Conte’s side consigned Saints to a damaging defeat in their battle for survival in the Premier League.

But now Saints have a chance to partly atone for that disastrous result at Wembley today and perhaps Yoshida will have a sleepless night for a completely different reason on Sunday night.

“That result was really difficult to accept. I couldn’t sleep that night. That’s why we cannot concede easy – because especially now we have been conceding so many goals,” he said after the 0-0 draw against Leicester on Thursday night.

“If we concede again it becomes so difficult. That’s why today was so important to get a clean sheet – that’s what we need to keep doing.

“It’s a different situation, different things. But anytime we play we want to win.

"In two weeks we play against Chelsea twice and we don’t want to lose to them again.”

The central defender is staying upbeat after Saints recorded their first Premier League points since March 3 at the King Power Stadium, following four defeats on the bounce.

It may not help them much in their battle to beat the drop, but Yoshida was desparate to cling to any positives.

“Of course we wanted to get three points. But need to stay optimistic because we are still in with a chance [of staying up],” he said.

“There were some good things today. We kept a clean sheet which we haven’t done for a long time.

“It is not easy to keep a clean sheet against Vardy and Mahrez. But still, we wanted to get three points, one point is not enough. It’s going to be crucial to us to win our next game.”

The 29-year-old knows Premier League survival is the number one priority, but admits reaching an FA Cup final will gift Saints big confidence heading into the final four games of the top-flight campaign.

He said: “The Premier League is our priority for sure. But if we get to the cup final it would give us so much confidence, a much better feeling.

“I think the confidence would help us a lot in this moment, that’s why we need to win at Wembley.”

Saints are currently four points adrift of safety in the league and next up in the top-flight is south coast neighbours AFC Bournemouth at St Mary’s.

“To be honest, in this moment, every single game is massive for us,” he said about the Cherries visit.

“But especially the next game in the league. It’s a derby, it’s a home game for us, especially after we only got one point tonight.

“Now we have to compete to stay up in the Premier League. It’s going to be massive.

“We have to win against Bournemouth, Everton and Swansea, it’s as simple as that.”

He said: “The Premier League is our priority for sure. But if we get to the cup final it would give us so much confidence, a much better feeling.

“I think the confidence would help us a lot in this moment, that’s why we need to win at Wembley.”

Saints are currently four points adrift of safety in the league and next up in the top-flight is south coast neighbours AFC Bournemouth at St Mary’s.

“To be honest, in this moment, every single game is massive for us,” he said about the Cherries visit.

“But especially the next game in the league. It’s a derby, it’s a home game for us, especially after we only got one point tonight.

“Now we have to compete to stay up in the Premier League. It’s going to be massive.

“We have to win against Bournemouth, Everton and Swansea, it’s as simple as that.”