Dale Stephens returns to Southampton tonight seeking the start of a results revival to lift Albion clear of relegation peril in the Premier League.

The Seagulls were 12th, the Saints ninth after they fought out a 1-1 draw at the Amex at the end of October.

Since Glenn Murray's header (below) cancelled out an early goal by Steven Davies, Albion have won twice in 14 matches.

The Argus: Southampton have fared even worse, with one victory over the corresponding period.

Both have made it through to the last 16 of the FA Cup, but Premier League survival is the overwhelming priority.

Albion's cause has been handicapped by too many draws at the Amex, including the one against Saints.

Stephens told The Argus: "We played well on the day, we have done generally here (at home). We are up for the challenge. Everyone is still confident we can do the business between now and the end of the season.

"Of course we need to turn it around. We are not picking up points and that is ultimately what we need."

It has become particularly tough for Albion away from home. They will equal an unwanted club record at St Mary's this evening if they fail to score for a seventh away game in succession.

That has only happened twice before in the league, in 1934-35 and 1956-57.

Three of the five away defeats during the deflating sequence have come against Manchester United, Spurs and Chelsea.

The Seagulls head along the south coast after a 4-0 home defeat in the reverse fixture with Chelsea to launch a potentially pivotal run of four matches against fellow strugglers.

West Ham are at the Amex on Saturday, then Albion got to Stoke before the FA Cup fifth round visit of Coventry and, at the end of February, another key home fixture against Swansea.

Stephens (below), the only member of the squad to have started every Premier League and FA Cup game, said: "They are big games. Playing against Chelsea wasn't going to make or break what we achieve this season.

The Argus: "We have got to go into every game now looking to win because ultimately we are running out of games. We've got a big month ahead of us."

The spell Stephens had at Southampton earlier in his career emphasises the extent to which both clubs have progressed.

"It was six or seven years ago, under (Nigel) Adkins," he said. "They were in League One at the time. I went there from Oldham.

"I went for the last six or seven weeks of the season. It's a good club. I enjoyed my time there.

"It was my first big club that I played for. I went from Bury to Oldham. It was a reality check really."

Albion are now in a long-running reality check about life among the elite with two new strikers on board for the run-in, Jurgen Locadia once he is fit and the returning Leo Ulloa.

"It's good to get in some new faces," said Stephens. "It lifts the changing room."

Albion and the other promoted sides, Newcastle and Huddersfield, are surrounded by clubs such as Southampton with strong Premier League pedigrees.

Since successive promotions under Adkins, they have never finished lower than 14th in five seasons under five different managers, the latest Mauricio Pellegrino (below left) after Mauricio Pocchetino, Ronald Koeman and Claude Puel.

The Argus: Albion boss Chris Hughton said: "They are a club that have made really good progress. I think they have got better every year that they have been in the Premier League and most people see them as a fairly established Premier League team now.

"But this league is so competitive. At the end of the season three teams go down and one, two or three of those teams might be fairly established Premier League teams.

"Teams that are coming up, I think, are better prepared than at any other time. It doesn't guarantee that they will stay up but I just think this is such a competitive league now it is very difficult to say which team will have a poorer season."