SAINTS legend Francis Benali has backed Mark Hughes to lead the club to Premier League survival.

With eight games to go Saints have brought in Hughes to try and save their troubled season, having sacked Mauricio Pellegrino earlier this week after a disastrous run of one win in 17 games.

The Welshman will take charge of his first game at the helm on Sunday, when Saints travel to League One Wigan in the FA Cup quarter-final.

“What we need to have is someone to come in and have an impact and motivate,” said Benali, who played with Hughes at Saints in the late 1990s.

“You look at the squad, the quality it has, there is a lot of potential. It needs someone to come in and find that potential and quality from the players we have.

“The timing of the decision will give him the opportunity to work with the players ahead of the West Ham game at the end of the month, plenty of time to have an impact.

“I can obviously speak personally about how Mark was, having played with him at Saints and played against him.

“As an opponent he was always formidable, he had that competitive edge and you know he’ll bring that to management.

“Because of what he did as a player, he can command respect as a manager by the players. He will not be scared of airing his opinions and saying it how it is, either.

“He’s most definitely one to come in and have that drive and passion.

“Not only that but he has that Premier League experience – he’s earned his stripes as a manager – and tactical nous. Whoever comes in needs to have that and have an instant impact.”

Saints are currently a point outside the relegation and face eight crunch games in their fight for survival.

Benali is no stranger to a relegation scrap and believes Hughes, the former Stoke, Fulham, Manchester City, QPR and Blackburn boss, has the necessary experience to keep the club up.

“Yes, there’s still time for him to save the club. It always felt more comfortable as a player being in these situations, knowing you can have a say in the outcome on the pitch,” he said.

“Now, it’s more difficult as a fan, because it’s not up to me.

“But they’ve got to keep scrapping. Until it’s mathematically done, there’s still time.

“That presence he had. He was quite a quiet character off the pitch, but fiery on it. He was a warrior.”