Tyrone Mings has pleaded with his Aston Villa squad to stick together as they face a real relegation battle after their upcoming Carabao Cup final appearance.
Villa face Manchester City at Wembley on Sunday it what could be a welcome distraction to their plight at the bottom of the Premier League.
Their 2-0 defeat at Southampton was a bitter blow and now they will find themselves most likely in deeper trouble when they resume their league campaign following their trip to Wembley.
Mings, who has impressed enough to get into Gareth Southgate's England squad despite Villa's struggles, says the team need to stay united and now fracture now at this crucial point in the season.
"We're in a relegation battle and the minimum requirement is to fight and battle and we didn't do that," Mings told the club website.
"We can't have any complaints because it wasn't good enough. We didn't start well, we didn't get into the game.
"We're one point above the relegation zone and the next time we play we may well be in the relegation zone, so something needs to change.
"We'll figure it out behind closed doors.
"The last thing we need to do now is fracture and lose faith in each other, so we'll prepare for the League Cup Final and it might be a welcome distraction from the league."
Goals at either end of the match from Shane Long and Stuart Armstrong eased Saints to victory and moved them comfortably into mid-table.
They are nine points ahead of Villa but manager Ralph Hasenhuttl insists they are not safe yet.
He said: "34 points maybe is not enough so we need more. We don't think about being safe yet.
"We've stretched the distance so it's good for us. In total it was one of our best home games so far."
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