Paul Jones rose to the challenge the arrival of Antti Niemi set for him on Wednesday night and he is hoping for more of the same at Spurs tomorrow.

Saints boss Gordon Strachan said the £2m arrival of Niemi earlier this week was designed to strengthen the goalkeeping unit and to keep the pressure on current number one Jones.

The Welsh international has responded in the best way possible with three strong displays this season, culminating in a terrific showing in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Wednesday.

But Jones knows he must keep up that level of performance if he is to retain his place in the side.

He said: "The gaffer brought in Antti to strengthen the squad and he has said that all along. He decided to start with me and I knew I had to go out there and perform.

"I knew it was up to me to do it. A lot of goalkeepers seem to be in the press at the moment but I'll just keep performing on the field."

Jones admits to being disappointed that Saints were unable to take their first three points of the season against the men from Stamford Bridge, but he was encouraged by the performance.

He was also impressed by the full debut of Michael Svensson who had a great game in front of Jones at the heart of the Saints defence.

"We were obviously disappointed not to get the win because in the second half with some of the chances we had we could have won the match," he said.

"It was a great goal from Fabrice (Fernandes) but we didn't taken the second one when we were on top and conceded one late on.

"Chelsea had some possession early on but didn't create any chances, and we looked solid from the front to the back, from James Beattie through to me.

"I thought Michael played very well and he looked comfortable on the ball."

Looking ahead to tomorrow's clash at White Hart Lane, Jones added: "We need to score more goals at Spurs. We need to get the ball in the box and put them under a lot of pressure and do what we did well against Chelsea with a lot of power and pace up front."