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Claude Puel: 'December could be a decisive month for Southampton'

Southampton manager Claude Puel says that December could prove to be a decisive month for his side as they look to move up the Premier League table.

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter | 12 December 2016

Southampton manager Claude Puel has said that his side "need the points" against Stoke City as they look to mount a challenge for a place in the top six of the Premier League table.

The Saints currently sit in 10th place after registering just five wins this season but they are only four points adrift of sixth-placed Manchester United.

Puel takes his side to the Potteries on Wednesday evening, and the Frenchman has indicated that he has demanded a strong performance from his team in what he feels could be a "decisive" month.

The 55-year-old told reporters: "We need the points. It's important to have a good concentration against Stoke.

"They have some great offensive players. It's impressive, but we have to focus on ourselves. December can be decisive. We want to keep the same objective in the second part of the season."

On Sunday, Southampton edged out Middlesbrough by a 1-0 scoreline at St Mary's.

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Premier League Table

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
P	Leicester City Leicester	44	30	4	10	86	39	47	94
2	Leeds United Leeds	45	27	9	9	80	41	39	90
3	Ipswich Town Ipswich	44	26	12	6	88	56	32	90
4	Southampton	45	25	9	11	85	62	23	84
5	Norwich City Norwich	45	21	10	14	79	63	16	73
6	West Bromwich Albion West Brom	45	20	12	13	67	47	20	72
7	Hull City	45	19	13	13	68	59	9	70
8	Middlesbrough	45	19	9	17	68	61	7	66
9	Coventry City Coventry	44	17	13	14	68	55	13	64
10	Preston North End Preston	44	18	9	17	56	61	-5	63
11	Bristol City	45	17	11	17	53	47	6	62
12	Cardiff City Cardiff	45	19	5	21	51	65	-14	62
13	Swansea City Swansea	45	15	12	18	59	64	-5	57
14	Watford	45	13	17	15	60	58	2	56
15	Sunderland	45	16	8	21	52	52	0	56
16	Millwall	45	15	11	19	44	55	-11	56
17	Queens Park Rangers QPR	45	14	11	20	45	57	-12	53
18	Stoke City Stoke	45	14	11	20	45	60	-15	53
19	Blackburn Rovers Blackburn	45	13	11	21	58	74	-16	50
20	Sheffield Wednesday Sheff Weds	45	14	8	23	42	68	-26	50
21	Plymouth Argyle Plymouth	45	12	12	21	58	70	-12	48
22	Birmingham City Birmingham	45	12	11	22	49	65	-16	47
23	Huddersfield Town Huddersfield	45	9	18	18	48	75	-27	45
R	Rotherham United Rotherham	45	4	12	29	32	87	-55	24