Southampton hero Rickie Lambert is confident they'll beat the drop with Mark Hughes in charge.

Lambert, 36, helped the club win two promotions in five years and is ­convinced they are strong enough to beat relegation from the Premier League.

The former England striker said: “I know they are struggling, but I do think they're going to be safe. The fans are still ­behind them, it is going to be close. They do need to start picking up points, but I think Mark Hughes will get them enough points to stay there.

“I'm more than ­confident they are going to be OK. They've played some good football this season, but they've been a bit too cautious going forward. Hughes will get them scoring a bit more and, as soon as they start scoring goals, then they will be fine.

“They've got a few hard games coming up, but it doesn't matter, at this time of year, who you come up against.

“If you need the points, then you have to go and get the points, and have the belief that you can go and beat them, no matter who it is – whether it's ­Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City, anyone.

“You see it year-in and year-out, the bottom teams beat the top teams because the desire to stay in the Premier League is a little bit more than to ­finish in the top three or four, I think."