MANCHESTER UNITED, Tottenham and Leeds may be on a heavyweight festive menu for Saints this Christmas, but red-hot striker Marian Pahars believes 13th-placed Sunderland will be no easy appetiser.

"The Sunderland game will be a good warm-up for them," said the little Latvian ahead of tomorrow's clash at St Mary's.

"When you look at our Christmas games when we play Manchester United, Tottenham, Leeds and Chelsea, I would say Sunderland are not much worse than they are. I think Sunderland are a very good team and they are quite strong. We will prepare just like normal for every Premiership game."

Southampton go into tomorrow's Premiership clash on a high after last weekend's 4-0 drubbing of Leicester City.

However manager Gordon Strachan hasn't taken it easy on the first-team squad. He increased the intensity of training to make sure the players keep their feet firmly on the ground.

"It has surprised them a wee bit," admitted Strachan. "We know that getting three points tomorrow is not going to get us out of trouble, that's why the training has been the way it is.

"The training has been more intense. We've put in more hours, the lads have been training for a long time in the mornings, they have been training in the afternoon, and we are training again on Friday at the stadium.

"With the intensity of the training, we cannot afford to take our foot off the accelerator."

Pahars who scored the fourth and final goal at Leicester to take his season's tally to eight, admitted he has never felt so fit. "Compared with previous managers, we are training harder now under Gordon Strachan," he revealed.

"I am not surprised the intensity was increased, because that is the way, and we feel much fitter now.

It is helping my game and I have been able to score quite a few goals."

The signing of Brett Ormerod last week for £1.7m has increased competition for places up front. The former Blackpool marksman is likely to keep his place on the bench tomorrow.

Pahars welcomes the competition. "No team can just have two strikers," he said, pointing out that the top clubs rotate with five or six forwards. "They are always fighting for their place."