WESLEY Hoedt has urged every Saints player to look in the mirror over the summer and reflect on what they did this season.

Saints narrowly avoided relegation in the Premier League after rescuing their campaign with eight points in their final five games.

Dutch centre-back Hoedt has not been in a celebratory mood since the club secured top flight survival and admits nobody should be happy, only relieved they didn’t pay the price for an appalling campaign.

“Every player has to look in the mirror and see what they’ve done this season,” he said.

“They must take their holidays, go to the World Cup and come back next season with a fresh start and everybody has to keep on the same foot like we finished the last four weeks.

“What we showed in the last few weeks is the standard we have to begin with next season.

“If we play like that we are not a bottom club for the Premier League but we are top ten of the top flight.”

“I’m not happy with a 17th place and I don’t think any professional footballer should have been happy with a 17th place,” he added.

“But, considering the circumstances we’ve been in the last months, it’s a relief we stayed up and I think we deserved it as well.”

Hoedt moved to St Mary's from Lazio last summer for £15m and has been a mainstay at the back in a turbulent campaign, playing 32 times.

The 24-year-old has partnered Jack Stephens, Virgil van Dijk, Maya Yoshida and Jan Bednarek at different points in the season, with Saints’ backline rarely settled.

He ended this term playing in the back-three, with boss Mark Hughes looking to push the full-backs on down the flanks.

Reflecting on his first season in England, he said: “I look back with ups and downs, for sure, I think the beginning I started really good, then there was a period of more difficulty.

“That was normal because the club was in a difficult situation and I think we as a team finished strong and me as a person as well.”

The former AZ Alkmaar man admitted it was tricky to keep performing well when the team were in a bad way.

Saints had won just once in 21 Premier League games before lifting themselves out of trouble at the last moment with wins against AFC Bournemouth and Swansea.

“It’s difficult carry the whole team if it’s not working and I tried my best, everyone tried their best, but you saw in the last few weeks and months we started to play better, I started to play better again,” he said.

“At the beginning I think I played really good. Then there was a period which was not good enough.

“I think I played 32 matches in my first season so that’s good and now I have to show I can help the club go back to where it belongs.”