DUSAN Tadic has urged Saints to give Mark Hughes the St Mary’s hotseat permanently after the Welshman’s ‘great’ impact at the club.

Hughes is on a contract until the end of the season and claimed his first Premier League win against AFC Bournemouth on Saturday, giving the club hope of top-flight survival.

Tadic scored a brace against the Cherries and dedicated those goals to his manager, who he thanked for his work since arriving at Saints last month.

The Serbian now wants Saints to bring the experienced boss in on a full-time basis and believes the 54-year-old can build something good at St Mary’s.

“He needs to stay in Southampton because he is a great coach and he’s a good coach for Southampton and everyone can see that,” Tadic told the Daily Echo.

“It would be great for Southampton if he stayed.”

“He’s made a big difference. He’s a great coach and he was a great player,” he continued.

“He’s a good guy and I think his assistants, Mark (Bowen) and Eddie (Niedzwiecki), they are great and they are helping us every day with advice and great work on the training pitches.

“This has been important and finally we are seeing the benefits of that.”

The 29-year-old is clearly a fan of Hughes and is convinced that long-term he can be the right man to take Saints forward.

He said: “You can see that. The most important thing now is that we stay in the league but he’s great for Southampton.”

Tadic has scored three goals in the last two home games and is Saints’ joint top-scorer with Charlie Austin, with seven goals, after his exploits against Bournemouth.

The playmaker, who has also tallied four assists this term, admits that Hughes’ methods in training are the reason for his own up-turn in form.

He said: “I feel very good. When the new coach and his assistants came we did great in the training sessions, we touched the ball more, we felt immediately sharper. I feel sharper myself.

“For this, we need to say thank you to them because they put a lot of great training on the pitch every time; passing drills, possession, games – everything is short and sharp and you can see that the whole team is looking sharper and quicker.”

On Saturday, Tadic netted his first strike on 25 minutes, before Josh King levelled for the Cherries on the stroke of half time.

The Serbia international hit back, however, scoring the winner in the 53rd minute to lift Saints right back into the fight for survival.

“It was a great match, a great experience that we will remember forever,” he said.

“It was one of the most important games for Southampton and we recognised that and we showed great character; when it was most difficult we were at our best.

“I think we should play every game like this but when you are under extra pressure you need to be like this; do everything to win the game.

“We took responsibility, we were giving our best. We were fighting for our lives and that’s it.”

A proud Tadic admits the meaningful victory, which lifted Saints to within a point of 17th-placed Swansea, will stay with him for the rest of his life.

He said: “It was a great experience. I will always remember this experience.

“It’s not about the goals, it’s about the whole atmosphere and all the crowd.

“It’s about the supporters, how they recognised we wanted to win the game and how we wanted to fight.

“Okay, it’s a derby match a bit also but, still, everyone was together; fans, players, coaches, everyone.

“You felt a great energy and atmosphere and you will remember that for your whole life.”

This win was Saints' first in the league at home since November 26, when they defeated Everton 4-1.

“It’s very important because so many times we didn’t get the benefits from our performances and finally we get everything," Tadic said.

“Like the last game against Chelsea you are 2-0 up but then are 3-2 behind; all season is like this.

“We have had great moments but then we’ve had really bad moments.

“We need to be strong, we need to defend together like a team and attack together like a team and fight for each-other – only like that can we survive.

Saints face Everton, Swansea and champions Manchester City in their final three games and Tadic believes four points might be enough to stay up.

“It’s difficult to say but maybe four points more,” he said.