MAARTEN Stekelenburg has urged Saints to stay calm and not press the panic button over their abject form.

The Dutch goalkeeper has declared himself fit for the Boxing Day match against Arsenal at St Mary’s after a frustrating period on the sidelines with a toe injury.

Saints haven’t won in six games in all competitions, but Stekelenburg has told his team-mates to remain cool and avoid buckling under the increasing pressure.

The 33-year-old insists that one win will change their outlook completely.

“We have to stay calm because – there is no reason to panic,” he said. “It won’t help you to panic.

“It won’t help the club and it won’t help the players to panic.

“We need a win and we will work hard for it.”

Stekelenburg, who is on a season-long loan from Championship side Fulham, has been eager to get back on the pitch after sitting out defeats to Crystal Palace and Tottenham, with Paulo Gazzaniga deputising.

“It’s frustrating when you get injured because you want to help the team and the club,” he said.

“It’s part of football. It happened in training. It’s always difficult and frustrating while you can’t help the team. I’m just happy I’m fit again.

He added: “Yes, today (Tuesday) I’ve trained in full and it went well so I don’t see any problems for the weekend.

“It was my first full training today. It felt good, so if everything stays like this I will be fine for the weekend.”

In the former Ajax and Roma stopper's opinion it is pure hard-work that will get Saints out of this current rut.

“If you lose games and the results aren’t what you want them to be, it’s always awkward,” he said. “The confidence goes down because you don’t get the results.

“To get back in it, we just have to work hard and work hard to get a result.”

He continued: “You just have to get that win. That’s football.

“Just look at Leicester. They’re in the winning mood. They have the confidence and that’s the other side of it.

“It can also be in a negative way if you lose games a couple of games in a row the morale will be down.

“If you see the table it’s still close. If you win a game you can jump up five or six places.”

On Boxing Day, Stekelenburg insists that Saints will stick to their style of play and won’t be tempted to deviate from their usual philosophy, even with the title-chasing Gunners visiting.

“Everybody expects Arsenal to win but it’s about us and how we can beat Arsenal is by playing our football,” he said. “That’s the reason why we got higher last year. We play well still in phases.

“If you come 2-0 behind just before half time, you play well, but 2-0 down is it’s a bad feeling,” he added, referring to the Spurs defeat.

“We have to avoid that, defensively do better and work more as a team.”