Defiant Southampton manager Mark Hughes insists he is not going to take any notice of the continued speculation over his future.

The Saints boss is under increasing scrutiny following a poor run of Premier League form which left his team in the bottom three and they went out of the Carabao Cup following a penalty shoot-out defeat against Leicester on Tuesday night.

Hughes, though, issued a rally cry as he prepared the squad for Saturday’s home match against Manchester United.

“It is what lack of positive results brings,” the Southampton manager said at a press conference. “The truth of the matter is if you gain good results, the pressure goes away to somebody else.

“I am not the only manager in charge of a football club which is down at the bottom (of the league) and maybe is underachieving at the moment, I just seem to be getting the brunt of the speculation, rightly or wrongly.

“But I have been in the game a long time. It doesn’t faze me and actually makes me want to excel even more… that is the message I give to the players.”