BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness has underlined the importance of beating Southampton tomorrow by describing the clash as Rovers' 'biggest game of the season'.

With just five points currently separating Rovers from the bottom three, Souness knows a victory against the managerless Saints would do much to ease the pressure on his players, who are still licking their wounds after last week's agonising defeat at Charlton Athletic.

Rovers have not won at Ewood since November 29 when a Stephen Carr own goal sealed a nervy 1-0 victory.

Since then, Rovers have lost three and drawn two on home soil, a sequence that has kept them pinned in the bottom half of the table.

And with Arsenal, the Premiership champions-elect, next up at Ewood in a fortnight's time, Souness knows it's time to start reversing his team's worrying home form.

"This is our biggest game of the season as far as I'm concerned," said the Blackburn boss.

"We've got to start winning games before we start putting ourselves under pressure.

"I said at the start of the season that our priority was to remain in this league and that task will become all the more difficult if we have to start playing under pressure in the next few months."

If ever a game summed up Rovers' season then it was last week's 3-2 defeat at The Valley.

In patches, Souness's side played some of their most exhilarating football of the season and few observers would have denied them at least a point following a gritty second half fight-back in which they had clawed back a 2-0 deficit.

However, after Brad Friedel's late goal appeared to have secured a draw, Charlton then promptly went up the other end of the pitch and scored a dramatic winner courtesy of Claus Jensen.

Souness was almost lost for words in the post-match Press conference as he came to terms with his team's latest setback.

Defensive errors have been an all-too-familiar sight this season, much to the exasperation of the manager.

Nevertheless, Souness still believes he has a better side now than the one which finished sixth last May.

"I think we are a better team now than we were last season in terms of our general football," said the Rovers boss.

"Obviously, defensively we have not been as good but in general terms, I think we've been every bit as good when it comes to playing football under pressure."