FORMER Saints manager and current Watford boss Nigel Pearson was full of praise for the St Mary's side following their win at Vicarage Road.

The Hornets, apart from a spell at the beginning of the second half, weren't at the races, even though they are battling to avoid the drop.

And Pearson put the result down to Saints being able to handle the situation a lot better than his side were able to.

On the performance, Pearson said: “[It was] a difficult day against a side who move the ball better than us.

“They coped with the situation better than us, we made too many unforced errors, mistakes for the goals, so gave ourselves far too much to do and it’s disappointing for sure.”

Watford's boss added: “We are fighting for our lives and we have not found performance levels I would expect from us.”