Saints face a massive four weeks that will make or break their season.

So far Saints have had what could be construed as a relatively easy start, in the main we have played sides at the right time, as they were struggling to find their form, Leeds for instance have yet to win away from home, likewise Birmingham & Millwall, in fact six of our eight games have been against sides who currently sit in the bottom half of the table, only Leicester in ninth and leeds a place behind are in that top half.

It could be said then that we have not yet proven our Championship credentials, that our position at the top is only because we havent had to play any of the top sides.

This changes with this weeks visit to Cardiff, a game that starts a run of six matches that include games against four of the top six plus a difficult trip to Reading.

This period will shape our season, if we are still top after Middlesbrough head back north then no one can deny our credentials for going back up to the premier automatically, however even still sitting in the top six will be a tough ask, as i said on many occasions last seaso, promotion form is a two points a game average and this is what we need to be looking at anything less and we will almost certainly slide down the table a little.

The key to this will to come through this period unbeaten, if we can do that then we shouldnt be too far off the pace, given that it will mean the four rivals we have played will have also dropped points as well by definition.

Im sure some will accuse this article of being negative and point out that we are top of the league etc, but thats being a little blinkered, you can bet your bottom dollar that Nigel Adkins will be well prepared to face all of these teams, he will be sending scouts to find out what their strengths and weaknesses are and looking to exploit them, he will also know that if we want promotion that we need to take points off the sides around us, yes we can only play what is put in front of us and we have done that well, but the season really begins in earnest with this trip to Cardiff, we now have the chance to show how good we really are.

But the focus has to be getting 12 points, ideally by winning 3 and drawing 3 of the 6, if we do that then we will be there or thereabouts, if we can do better than that then we will almost certainly be top or at least in the top 2, let the games begin !  

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ThereIn76 added 11:07 - Sep 27 I don't think that a run of 6 games will make or break the season. There is a total of 46 games to play. Last season QPR went up as champions winning 24 games. We've got 6 wins already and still have 38 matches ahead of us. So even if we have a lean spell now it won't be any reason to write us off.
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geezershoong added 11:26 - Sep 27 Make or break? Come on, it's September! We haven't played 10 games yet. As for a relatively start, this is the division I constantly hear where 'anybody can beat anybody'. Give the players some credit ffs. But as you say, an interesting period coming up. Results at home vital & I for one am confident we can do that.
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TimSaint added 13:53 - Sep 27 It has only been seen as an easy start because of how well we have played so far. We can only play who the fixture computer gives us, but perhaps the fact that we have gained good results against teams such as Leeds, Birmingham, Millwall, Nottingham Forest etc explains why we are above them and they have less points than people expected. Forest were in the play offs last season, Leeds missed out on the final day, Birmingham were 2 Divs above us last season - so these would have been perceived as difficult games. Sure we haven't played West Ham yet, or other teams in the top 6 or 7, but to be honest, who would have thought Derby, Middlesbrough or even Brighton would be in the Top 6 after 8 games ? Sure we have some difficult games coming up, but as the league table changes, so do the "difficult" games. The league is full of ex-Premier teeams all vying for a top 2 or top 6 finish. We have had a great start, so we just need to push on and carry on playing the way we have been and come January, maybe bolster the squad a little. We have shown so far that we are more than capable, so we just need the fans to get behind the team. See you at Cardiff tomorrow !! COYR

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simmo400 added 14:57 - Sep 27 Must agree with other comments. MAKE OR BREAK get real Nick. The only thing to worry about is finding the net from 7 yards. If we did against Leicester and Burnley we would be unbeaten 100% record. So stop worrying Nick and start getting the ball in the onion bag SAINTS. COYR.
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