MARK Hughes has stated the importance of Saturday’s game against Watford.

Saints go into the match languishing in 16th position, just one point off the Premier League’s relegation zone.

They were humiliated by Manchester City last Sunday where they were thrashed 6-1 and Hughes believes that result makes the Watford fixture even more crucial.

Hughes said: “It becomes huge.

“We know ourselves the areas in which we weren’t strong enough (against Manchester City).

“There’s not too many teams who have created good moments against City because they stop things very, very quickly if you’re trying to counter attack.

“But we showed good intent in that regard.”

Saints have a turgid run of games coming their way after the international break.

They’ve got matches in the league against fellow strugglers Fulham, Manchester United, Tottenham, Cardiff, and Arsenal

These fixtures bolster the importance of getting three points at St Mary’s this weekend.

Watford head to the south coast on the back of a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle and will be looking to get back to winning ways after their electric start to the season.

And if they prevent Saints from winning on Saturday, it will mean they will only have won once in front of a home crowd in a calendar year, which is something Hughes wants to prevent happening.

Hughes added: “We’ll work towards the weekend and make sure the elements of our play that were missing are present against Watford.

“Those are the things we can take into the games ahead of us.

“Clearly at the weekend it’s a huge game and it’s one that we want maximum points from.”