Mark Hughes says Premier League survival is Southampton’s ‘huge concern’ despite reaching FA Cup semi-finals

Southampton beat Wigan 2-0 at the DW Stadium thanks to second-half goals by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Cedric Soares

Mark Hughes applauds the Southampton supporters (Getty Images)

Mark Hughes welcomed the chance to take Southampton to Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals, but said the club's priority remains survival in the Premier League.

Southampton beat Wigan 2-0 at the DW Stadium on Sunday thanks to second-half goals by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Cedric Soares, as Hughes's tenure at the club began with a victory.

“This was an important fixture,” said Hughes. “Though clearly our Premier League status is a huge concern for us and we’ve got to retain that. We had to show the qualities and traits today that a good team has to show on a regular basis and maybe they haven’t done that prior to me coming to the club.

“But the time I’ve been with them, I’ve see good quality and application and maybe they’ve been hurt by the criticism of themselves, as individuals and as a group. Today was the first step towards addressing those criticisms. We haven’t been able to work with them very long but I’m excited by the group.

“I think there is good quality, good traits, good behaviours which we can work on. It’s only a short-term deal, but I’m looking forward to the challenge. Now Wembley will be a nice occasion. I’ve been to a few semi-finals as a manager but never quite made it to Wembley.

“We will enjoy it and try and take some positives out of it – to hopefully help us in our league form as well.”

Wigan manager Paul Cook said he could have no complaints with the performance of his players. “The cup has been a massive headache in the league but it’s been great,” said Cook. “You can’t ask any more of the players, they have been a credit to the club and represented League One really well.

“You can’t ask for any more than four games against four Premier League teams and the Man City game will live long in the memory. It’s a massive disappointment to go out so close to Wembley but the focus now is promotion.”