SAINTS FC Women captain Rosie Parnell has given her verdict on her side's season so far and admitted that four Championship defeats are not what the club wanted at this point.

Marieanne Spacey-Cale's side were beaten 2-0 by Charlton Athletic at St Mary's last Sunday which dropped them down to fourth in the table.

With Charlton, Sunderland, and Crystal Palace all now above Southampton FC Women in the division, Parnell knows that the south coast side need to bounce back at the earliest opportunity.

Speaking to the Daily Echo after the defeat to the Addicks, Parnell said there is still a long way to go this season.

She said: "Four defeats, it’s not we wanted to be and it’s not where we wanted to be. It’s a long season. It certainly won’t define us."

Saints travel to Selhurst Park on Sunday to face Crystal Palace as they look to respond with a positive result against their promotion rivals.

Palace have played a game fewer than the sides around them and have only lost once in the Championship this season.

Looking forward to the meeting this weekend, Parnell revealed how important the clash is against the Eagles.

The Saints captain added: "I think we just need to focus on ourselves, try and have a 90 minute performance and just trust ourselves in possession, trust ourselves out of possession, and just stick together this week in training and realise how important that three points is next week."

The game will be played in front of a club record crowd for Crystal Palace with over 2,500 tickets already sold.

They have also scored 31 goals in only nine matches in the Championship so it is expected to be a highly entertaining encounter between two of the best sides in the league.