SAINTS must arrest a winless record that has stood for nearly 14 years versus David Moyes if they are to jolt their Premier League campaign to life against Sunderland at St Mary’s on Saturday.

It was all the way back in September 2002, when Marian Pahars scored from the penalty spot in a 1-0 home win over Everton, that Saints last defeated a team managed by new Stadium of Light chief Moyes.

Since then, Saints have lost thrice and drawn five times against the former Manchester United boss, but it is almost essential to avoid that run rumbling on any longer.

Failure to break that duck this weekend will leave Saints without a victory in any of their opening three Premier League matches under Claude Puel, which will not help lingering doubts over current tactical decisions and lack of recent action in the transfer window.

A defeat will undoubtedly be troubling for St Mary’s supporters, while a draw will be viewed as simply not good enough in many people’s minds, considering the calibre of Moyes’ latest team, which narrowly avoided the drop to the Championship last term under England manager Sam Allardyce and isn’t seen as any stronger this season.

With the Black Cats losing consecutive league matches and Moyes himself admitting that his team are heading straight for another relegation battle this term, Saints have what looks like the perfect chance to get Puel’s reign across the start-line after a draw and a loss so far.

Although the Premier League season is still in its embryonic stages, the Sunderland match already has great importance in terms of what shape this campaign may take for Saints.

Fan unrest is starting to brew under the surface slightly at St Mary’s, with worries over the new formation and a feeling that the team needs to be strengthened through investment in the transfer market.

Yet any type of victory will go some way to stopping those concerns and give Saints a respectable points tally heading into the first international break, and, more importantly, before a mightily tough trip to Arsenal in their next game.

Dusan Tadic admitted after the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United that a victory against Sunderland is of vital importance.

Saints managed to scrape a draw in the same fixture last season, with Virgil van Dijk cancelling out Jermain Defoe’s goal, grabbing a last-gasp equaliser after Jose Fonte was sent off.

But the season before that Saints dismantled the Black Cats in sensational fashion in an 8-0 hammering at St Mary’s.