Its game 1 of an important week.

Whilst the Johnstones Paint Trophy isnt exactly the top prize in British football, for many Saints fans the old adage of "if your in it, try to win it" applies and whilst it wont be the end of the world if the Canaries come to SMS and win, Saints supporters wont say no to a trip to Wembley and the chance for the club to boost its profile, not to say its income.

That being the case Alan Pardew does have a dilemma, in previous rounds he has mixed and matched a little, but does he do this now, or does he play a strong side and hope that no one picks up an injury, for no matter how tempting a trip to Wembley may look, fact of the matter is that the league and promotion is the number one priority.

In Pardews favour is that he does have a strong squad and he can bring in fringe players and know they are up to the job, the older players like Connolly & Perry could be rested and replaced with Waigo and Trotman, not too shoddy replacements I would offer.

It looks another decent JPT crowd to roar Saints on, they will all feel that if Saints can hold Norwich in the league, when the Canaries were flying and Saints faltering, then a victory is possible, in the grand scheme of things although Norwich is the hardest team left in the Southern Section, truth is better to have them now at home than in the area final over two legs.

Its all about building a winning element, AP has done that over recent weeks and used the JPT to do that, hopefully that can continue against the East Anglian side and Saints can progress a step nearer Wembley.     

Photo: Action Images

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