ORIOL Romeu doesn't need reminding about just how important Saturday's game with Everton could turn out to be.

Like Saints, the Toffees have had a poor start to the season and find themselves just three points outside the relegation zone.

Should Ralph Hasenhuttl's side win at the weekend, the two teams will be separated by goal difference.

Speaking to the Daily Echo, Romeu said: “It’s going to be crucial. It’s going to be massive.

“We’ve put ourselves in a situation now where we must win against Everton and that’s the key to giving us a good situation afterwards.

“Playing at home, we want to have a better feeling because the last game was awful. It wasn’t good at all.

“We want to win to have a connection with the fans and give them also positive feelings from the first minute.

“Everton aren’t doing very well and if we can put them under pressure early one, then we can have a good game.”

Saints' last outing at St Mary's proved to be a record-breaking one, with Leicester running out 9-0 victors.

Since then, Hasenhuttl's outfit have had back-to-back trips to Manchester City, firstly in the Carabao Cup and then in the Premier League.

Although they lost both of them, they were much better at the weekend and were unlucky to leave the Etihad pointless.

Because of this, Romeu believes they will be able to take confidence into their encounter with Everton.

“I think we’ve seen that if we defend the way we did against Manchester City it will be hard to concede chances," continued the ex-Chelsea player.

“We need to defend well, protect our goal. Going forward there are things we need to improve, and they will improve that’s for sure.

“That’s what we have to bring to the next game. It was hard for Manchester City to get chances and score against us.

“We want to have the same feeling against Everton. We want to make them feel uncomfortable and make it tough for them.”

Many fans didn't expect Saints to leave the Etihad with any points in the bag, but they were, rightly, demanding the players to give 100 per cent - something they didn't do against Leicester.

Romeu admitted the team were in the same boat, as no one thought they could come away victorious.

However, he claimed Saints placed an emphasis on creating a positive atmosphere within the squad again.

“I think the idea was to have a better feeling and to enjoy working together and to have a positive outcome from each other,” explained Romeu.

“I think we were pretty close. We were there for almost the whole game and I think that is the key.

“At the end, we took nothing. It might not have been about points, but it was important to get that feeling back.

“There are many games coming and very important ones, so having the feeling back against a team like Manchester City gives you the message that we will be able to be in a better position.”

Romeu was back to his best at the Etihad, throwing himself in the way of countless City shots, which is something he is more than happy to be doing, adding: “It’s a job that you have to do for the team.

“Being in front of the three centre-backs was crucial against Man City. Being more connected and closer together will give the opponents less space to play through us and fewer chances.”