SAINTS defender Jan Bednarek says his side need to play a ‘perfect game’ on Monday night at Nottingham Forest in order to get the three points required to give them reignited hope in the relegation battle.

Saints enter the weekend six points adrift of safety with just four games remaining in their Premier League season, making them firm favourites for the drop. 

Yet, despite the disastrous nature of their campaign, they could end the round of bank holiday fixtures just three points away from a survival spot.

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Granted, results would have to fall their way and they would have to beat Nottingham Forest and that is no certainty considering Ruben Selles’s men have failed to emerge victorious in any of their last nine league matches.

But speaking to BBC Radio Solent, Saints defender Bednarek insisted that they have a chance of getting back into the survival fight as long as they put in a ‘perfect’ performance at the City Ground.

“In my life, I’m used to noisy stadiums. I played in Poland in derby games, that’s really noisy,” Bednarek said of the atmosphere that will greet his team. 

“So yeah, there will be pressure but we have pressure every day. For us, it should be a normal game, we can only win three points and we have to focus on the task. 

“We have to focus on the things we have to do on the pitch, what the manager asks us to do, and that’s the most important thing: not to focus on what surrounds us, what sort of game it is, we just need to go and enjoy it. 

“The game is 90 minutes, you can’t start the game in the 10th minute and you can’t finish the game in the 70th minute. The most important thing for us is to go there and from the first minute to be consistent, to be dangerous, to keep the ball well. I think we need to have a perfect game to win it and I think we can do it.”

Daily Echo:

Saints have struggled desperately for consistency this season, both in individual games and across the campaign as a whole.

They are yet to win back-to-back Premier League matches while last weekend’s Jekyll and Hyde performance at St James’ Park yet again showcased how good they can be in individual moments before crumbling.

Honest in his verdict of Saints’ disastrous season, Bednarek admitted that they just haven’t been good enough - even if the margins are incredibly tight at times.

“We’re in a tough situation,” the 27 year old added. “I think a lot of things were against us, a lot of games we should have won we lost. It’s tough, it’s a really difficult situation for the club, for each player, because we all care and all we want to do is win. 

“But I think we’re just not good enough and not consistent enough in the games. I think - like against Newcastle or Arsenal - that we can perform at the highest level for the majority of the game but there is a little bit missing and that is the decider. 

“In the Premier League, the quality of the opposition, the intensity of the game is so demanding, so we are missing those things. But also I think we are learning. We have a really young group and it’s not easy. 

“I think from the outside, some people don’t realise how demanding and how tough the Premier League is. And for the younger players who came here in the beginning of the season or the winter, now they understand how demanding and how tough this league is.”

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Bednarek has been something of a revelation since returning to St Mary’s from his failed Aston Villa loan in January. 

The Polish international has now started each of his side’s last 14 Premier League matches and while he would no doubt be a valuable asset to keep regardless of Saints’ fate this season, Bednarek refused to be drawn into a discussion about his personal future.

“It’s still four more games to go and I’m not thinking about it. It would be really unprofessional and disrespectful to the teammates, to the staff, to the club. 

“We have four more chances and it’s not done yet. We are aware of the situation, I’m aware of the situation but the most important thing is to win the next game. 

“I have my agents who take care of my future, they will see what the situation is like but for me, this is the club that gave me a lot. I learned here, I grew up as a player, so I just try to give my best on the pitch, I try to learn and listen, and give my best for the club.”