SAINTS Women defender Jemma Purfield insisted her side have "plenty of fight left in us" despite their 1-0 defeat at promotion rivals Sunderland on Sunday.

The defeat leaves Marieanne Spacey-Cale's side four points off the top with five games left - while the deficit can stretch to six points if Crystal Palace or Charlton win their two games in hand.

A Mary McAteer winner early in the second half consigned Saints to their seventh Championship loss of the campaign.

Speaking to Saints club media after the game, Purfield was adamant all is not lost in terms of the rest of the season.

The 27 year old said: "I think we’re going to need a bit of time to digest that one. It’s tough. It’s disappointing, it hurts and so it should, but we have to bounce back.

"We’ve still got big games to play. We just have to deal with where we are at now. We’ve got plenty of fight left in us and we will stay together and build on that. It was always going to be tight."

Southampton FC Women are next in action when they host Reading on Sunday, March 17 at St Mary's.

Purfield claimed Saints need to do all they can to win their remaining matches and then see where it leaves them in the promotion picture.

She concluded: "We’ve just got to focus on us and make sure that we win our games and put things right. The rest will take care of itself."