DAVE JONES will be a man with a mission when his Wolves team visit St Mary's for their FA Cup showdown on Sunday.

It's the first time the former Saints' boss has come up against his old club since they showed him the door in controversial circumstances just over three years ago. With charges of alleged child abuse still hanging over him, Jones was ushered out in short order to be replaced by Glenn Hoddle in January 2000. The case against him was subsequently dropped for lack of evidence at the end of that year and he was installed as manager at Molyneux in January 2001. The sleeping giant Midland club has continued to be unable to gain promotion to the Premiership in his two seasons in charge and if they don't make it this year, he could face another change of job. Unless, that is, he could take Wolves to Cup glory at the Millennium Stadium in May. And who would bet against them causing a major upset in front of the Sky cameras on Monday? Surely the script has already been written. Saints have, at best, shown indifferent form in the past few games and if they struggle to beat the likes of West Brom with home advantage, then what price Messrs Ince, Irwin and the rest turning them over? A major setback for Jones, though, is the loss through injury last Saturday of in-form striker George Ndah. He had scored seven goals in eight games before being forced off early against his old club Crystal Palace. Whoever replaces him will have a tough task against one of the meanest defences in the Premiership, but can Saints find the way to goal? James Beattie can - but if he were to take a knock 'early doors' those dreams of an idyllic weekend in Cardiff could soon become a nightmare. And no-one would be happier about that than the opposing manager with a Welsh name - but with a Scouse pride and determination to make up for lost time.