Rickie Lambert: 'Southampton will avoid Premier League relegation'

Club legend Rickie Lambert has predicted that Southampton will show their quality in the final third during the closing weeks of the season.

Southampton are currently struggling to remain in the Premier League, with the south coast club sitting three points adrift of safety with six matches remaining.

However, Lambert - who scored 117 goals in 235 appearances for the club - has claimed that he is "more than confident" that the Saints will avoid relegation to the Championship.

The 36-year-old told The Mirror: "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."

Southampton have lost their opening two league fixtures with Hughes in charge.