SAINTS boss Ruben Selles has insisted that ‘the club, city, and fans all deserve to be in the Premier League’ as relegation looms for his side ahead of Monday night’s trip to Nottingham Forest.

Selles's team enter the weekend six points adrift of safety and with only four games left to play, it will take a minor miracle for Saints to avoid the drop.

Relegation would mean a return to the Championship for the first time since the 2011/12 season, no doubt a disaster for the club and the entire city.

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Asked about the possibility of relegation and the impact it would have on the wider community, Selles responded: "Well it's not going to be a nice picture for any of us, I think that's clear. 

“The club, city, and fans all deserve to be in the Premier League. When you're a club that gets relegated, it is because of a number of situations and you need to learn from that. If it happens, it happens and we need to learn from that. But we'll be fighting for it not to happen."

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Popular statistics company Opta have now given Saints a 98.7% chance of suffering relegation but Selles is refusing to concede until his side’s fate is mathematically decided.

“This is the Premier League. We are still there," he added. "We didn't have the best April as you know. But it's not only difficult for us, it is difficult for everybody. 

“And the difference between us and the others has not been that they have been better than us in some moments. It has been like a moment when they got the three points when they should not get it. So I think we are still there and we are going to be there."