MARK Wotte is hoping a combination of work and rest will help his stars play their ‘seven cup finals’ with the spark they need to keep them in the Championship.

This weekend marks an important break in the season due to international fixtures and means Saints have a fortnight between their last game at Blackpool and their next one against Charlton at St Mary's.

But this is pretty much the last chance for the players to get any kind of mental and physical respite before the end of the campaign.

When they return to action Saints will play five of their remaining seven matches in the space of a fortnight.

The results of those games will go a long way to deciding whether Wotte's side can avoid relegation and the head coach is very wary of not burning out his players during this fortnight.

Wotte said: "I know some people think we have to train every day to improve the team but the mentality of the players was excellent at Blackpool because they had three days off in the week."

Full story in today's Daily Echo