Claude Puel has gambled with his rotation policy and now just as he needs to put out a strong side and get the season back on track he finds himself with injury problems.

There can be no doubt in most Saints fans minds that the issues we are having of late are down to the manager's rotation policy and this looks set to continue at Carrow Road as Saints take on Norwich City.

But Claude Puel needs to get a result in this one, even if it means risking a few players before the game against Liverpool.

Put bluntly the constant rotation has upset our team spirit and momentum and we need to get that back ahead of Wednesday evening or at least some of it.

Puel will be decimated at the back with Cedric Soares already ruled out with the injury picked up at Everton and Puel claiming Ryan Bertrand is still out with a mysterious illness that kept him out of the Everton game although did not stop him being named on the bench.

A look at the dfence that finished the game at Everton should make it unsurprising that we capitulated so easily in the final 17 minutes of the game and we need to avoid that again.

But Puel has further issues in that Jose Fonte is at odds with the club and he needs him on Saturday, the Frenchman needs to realise that the success of Saints is build from the back, yet he has tinkered constantly with that formula, although I will point out that his hands have been sometimes tied and the issues with Fonte have not helped that situation and are not of the managers making.

So by all means rotate the squad, but you can't do that without a solid back line and we havent had that of late and hence the collapses.

So for this one Puel needs Fonte and Van Dijk in the centre, Martina at right back or even Yoshida and McQueen at left, this is probably the best he can do, but if he leaves out either Fonte or VVW for Yoshida, then we have a recipe for disaster.

In midfield he has Davis, Romeu, Ward Prowse, Clasie & Hojbjerg, five players for three positions, rotating here should not be an issue.

For the front line Tadic has not played a lot of late so should be fresh, Redmond likewise missed half of the minutes of the Xmas games through getting sent off and suspended and willbe out to show his previous club that he made the right move and then you can slot in either Long or Rodriguez.

Puel should still have options to rest a player or two and still put out a strong side.

If we throw in too many kids then we are asking for trouble, the likes of Josh Sims need to develope at a steady pace and get their confidence up in strong winning sides, if we throw out a team of kids and they get beat, it will do nothing for their confidence and reputations, it will set them back not enhance their experience and that is not even taking into account the toxic atmosphere it will create around the club.

This is a big game for Claude Puel, during the rest of January he has five games, perhaps six if he wins this one that will make him or break him at this club, by the end of the month he could stand with his reputation restored and the club in a Wembley final for the first time in 38 years or he could find himself beyond the point of no return.

This is not a game that he should be gambling on, he did a lot of gambling in the final six weeks of 2016 and he did not win much, now is the time for back to basics and men doing men's jobs.

Photo: Action Images

SanMarco added 11:07 - Jan 7 "This is a big game for Claude Puel". I totally agree. If we had Hull in the LC semi I would agree to go all out for that but brutal honesty (and it is that rather than pessimism) tells me that a defeat today and say 0-2 on Weds is a pretty possible outcome. In other words our next, tricky, league game would come after five straight defeats. We therefore need to win TODAY. Fonte will not play so the best we can hope for is Martina, VVD, Yosh, McQueen (that ought to be good enough if we really do have "strength in depth"). Tadic and Long shouldn't be too tired - sprinkle in any three others + a youngster and we OUGHT to be competitive. What Puel does though is anyone's guess. It is bound to involve nearer 10 change than none.

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highfield49 added 11:44 - Jan 7 "This is a big game for Claude Puel" seems to have been a featured phrase for several weeks now. Like SanMarco I think, realistically, Liverpool will win over two legs because they are a team in form and we're not. It appears that the board intend to keep Puel in charge and there is little point in throwing our toys out of the pram if that is their decision. Moan and grumble, dream about signing top players and building a new stadium or whatever but I suspect the owner has her own agenda. However, losing today will be humiliating and attract all those news headlines about our best players leaving all over again. Let's get behind the team and hope for a Redmond hat trick to turn the season back on course.

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halftimeorange added 13:50 - Jan 7 You can't blame Puel if he plays the kids today. Our season is now looking as though it's all about Wednesday. I'd be amazed if the players aren't concerned about the rotation policy and we've seen signs of unhappiness with Hobjberg, Boufal and Redmond all showing dissatisfaction when being subbed. If we fail to get a result today then that's unfortunate but if we capitulate on Wednesday sparks are bound to fly, there will be wholesale booing, probably chants of Puel out and supporters leaving in droves well before the end. On Wednesday our players, happy or not, need to give their all. Sadly, it's doubtful that will be enough but we do need to be able retain our self-esteem on all fronts which taken a real beating recently.

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Gizzle007 added 09:56 - Jan 8 This is the first time In years I haven't keep a constant tabs on how we are doing through the day if it be at the game or unable to make game so constant flicking to live scores to check on progress, my heart is so strong saints but feeling very deflated over all this, can't be arsed to moan about this and that just want to make a point in hope maybe they see but I doubt it as saints fans always seem to be left in the dark as les says the Southampton way, a good friend of mine vowed not to watch aniher England game while Hodgson was in charge and he didn't, I thought it was a bit mad but now Puel is doing more a less same to us I'm starting to understand why.

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