Mark Hughes says Swansea hotel cancellation helped motivate his players ahead of relegation clash

Hughes, in a punchy post-match press conference, insisted that his team would not let anything distract them as they hunted down a crucial three points for safety

Southampton have virtually guaranteed their Premier League status for another season (Getty)

Mark Hughes revelled in guiding his Southampton team to the brink of safety, announcing that his team “were not to be denied or messed about” after logistical difficulties ahead of their crucial 1-0 win at Swansea City.

The Southampton team had to stay in Cardiff rather than Swansea for the game after a hotel booking issue, and then even had to walk the last 100 yards to the Liberty Stadium on Tuesday evening rather than wait for the Swansea team bus to arrive first. But Hughes, in a punchy post-match press conference, insisted that his team would not let anything distract them as they hunted down a crucial three points for safety.

“I’m not for one minute suggesting for Swansea had anything to do with that,” Hughes said of the hotel farrago. “Maybe it was over zealous Swansea fans in positions to affect our hotel booking maybe.”

“But those things you can use to your own benefit and use as a motivating factor,” Hughes said. “We got held up a little bit outside as well because we were first here on the coach. Apparently we were meant to wait for Swansea, but we weren’t going to do that. We were too focused, we got off the bus and walked the 100 yards into the ground. We weren’t going to be denied and messed about.”

Hughes was delighted with how his players responded after the heart-break of the late equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Everton on Saturday. “Obviously there was no lee-way tonight, we had to win the game to have any prospect of staying in the Premier League,” Hughes said. “I’m delighted with the response after the weekend, I knew very, very quickly that they were re-focused, ready tonight.”

The final whistle sparked gleeful celebrations from the Southampton players and staff – so much so that Hughes and Carlos Carvalhal did not even shake hands – but Hughes insisted that they still had a job to do on Sunday against Manchester City to ensure safety.

“Those celebrations should not be mis-interpreted,” Hughes said. “We were emotional as a consequence of the game. There is still an issue to be resolved, we have a bit of a cushion but we play Manchester City, so we have to be careful. If there is any team in the league that can score goals, it’s City. But this is a win that’s significant, there’s so many things riding on it.”