Hughes remains upbeat despite Leicester draw
Southampton's survival hopes suffered another blow with a dour draw against Leicester City, but Mark Hughes remains in positive mood.
Southampton manager Mark Hughes insists his players are not "downhearted" after they were held to a 0-0 draw by Leicester City on Thursday.
The result moves them four points behind 17th-placed Swansea City, but the Welsh side have a game in hand over the Saints, who have now failed to win in eight Premier League games.
Southampton have the chance to forget about their league woes on Sunday when they face Chelsea in an FA Cup semi-final and Hughes is adamant they will not be sulking.
He told BBC Sport: "Only time will tell to see whether the point is enough for us.
"There was a little bit of apprehension in our play which is understandable, but I can't fault the players, they put in a shift during a warm evening.
"The players are a little bit flat and we have got a big game at the weekend, but we are not in the situation where we are downhearted.
FULL TIME: 0-0 It’s a point apiece at King Power Stadium. April 19, 2018
"It's the disappointment of not getting maximum points, but the key was to get something from the game."
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The result means it is now three games without a win for the Foxes, but boss Claude Puel is not concerned and believes if they show the same level of performance next time out the result will be markedly different.
"We are a little bit disappointed not to win but I'm happy with our performance," he said.
"It was important to continue the momentum from the second-half against Burnley and I think we did that.
"We showed a lot of quality and had two or three good chances to score in the first-half and we played with a good tempo and intensity. If we can repeat this performance in the next game against Crystal Palace we will do well."