Nigel Adkins has some hard work to do as well as some big decisions to make.

Of course the defeat at Crystal Palace shhould not be llooked upon as a disaster in terms of our league position and form, but to be blunt it would be a foolish manager who didnt heed the warning signs of the past month or so and realise that we are on a downward trend at the moment.

Saints fans are enjoying seeing the team top of the league and singing about it, but in terms of the form guide over the last six games, Saints currently lie 9th with 9 points from those half dozen games, whilst the last month hasnt exactly been a disaster, the warning signs are there and we need to arrest the slide before it becomes a landslide.

Yes we are top, but we wont stay there too much longer.

Nigel Adkins knows that there is a problem, he all but said so after the last game at Reading, admitting that he perhaps should have made a few more changes than he did, but his main problem is that in the areas that he perhaps needs to freshen he has little options.

From an option point of view, he might also feel that after the Palace game some of those options are not going to freshen up the side in the way in which he would hope.

But his main concerns must be at the back and up front, starting at the back, Jose Fonte is well out of form and Adkins is now at the point where he must be considering dropping the central defender, however he has little options here with only three players fit in this position so his choice is Martin or Fonte and he might consider that too big a step to take in such a big a game as Saturday.

But something has to be done, Saints are shipping too many goals than is comfortable for a side with aspirations for promotion, OK its not of gigantic proportions, but we need to be able to keep clean sheets and two in the last six league games is average at best, two out of the last nine perhaps puts it into a bigger context, to stay at the top we have to stop giving away a goal every game and Nigel more than anyone will know this.

But its the options up front that are more of a concern, although with the return of Lee Barnard, Adkins will feel a lot more happier now that he does have genuine quality at his disposal, so far we have managed to score in every league game, nine goals in the last six games doesnt sound too bad, but when we then take into account that four of those were scored in one game and in the other five we only scored a single goal in each game, a pattern is emerging.

Going forward we have been too one dimensional at times, Rickie Lambert has been in superb form at times, but there is a feeling that if a side can cut off the line of supply then we cant offer too many other options, David Connolly has run himself into the ground to make space and opportunities for others, but the downside is he is not getting a lot of chances himself, we should not blind ourselves to the lack of goals in the last month or so by pointing towards the Watford game and using the goals in that to inflate our total.

WE are hanging on by the skin of our teeth at the top at the moment and we cant keep relying on our home record to see us through, I always try to look at the bigger picture when giving an opinion on this site, sometimes people take this as negative, not at all, Im trying to thhink as Nigel Adkins does and he knows that sides need to keep fresh and that is where the manager earns his corn, by making crucial decisions that change games and deal with problems before they happen.

In the next week with two home games we have the opportunity to keep pushing on and maintain our lead at the top, if we can do that then we have the ideal opportunities to change our form away from home with several very winnable games, we know we have the players, now Nigel Adkins just needs to step up to the plate and do what all managers have to do from time to time and thats make big big decisions.             

Photo: Action Images

kingkenny added 11:12 - Oct 27 We desperately need the transfer window and some pre-planning in order to strengthen and finish as high as we can.
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geezershoong added 11:49 - Oct 27 I'm not sure it's a case of 'skin of our teeth' but we do need another striker, Forte needs to go & another CB as cover would be nice. Considering the options we have, he's never going to drop JF.
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dirk_doone added 12:11 - Oct 27 Could Forte be the new Pulis? A player we can seemingly never get rid of?
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saintBob added 12:27 - Oct 27 Boro may seem like a side difficult to beat but their recent form isn't great; won 1 lost 1 & drawn 4. I'm sure we can field a side decent enough to win this game and again against Peterborough next Tuesday night. This will surely give us a big confidence boost which is what we need to take into the first of what should be three winnable away games.
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stmichael added 16:13 - Oct 27 Can see where you are coming from with this however after W Ham we had a 5 point gap over 2nd which is quite significant after so few games. If we beat Boro it is likely to be up to 5 again with a very winnable fixture against Peterboro to increase further still. After Peterboro I expect us to be at least 5 points clear maybe more. I personally think that away draws at Derby Reading & Burnley are very acceptable. At Coventry Doncaster Portsmouth perhaps not.

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Kiwifiedpom1 added 18:19 - Oct 27 At lrast you guys are stating the obvious. Adkins is aware of the situation as many on here are. But nobodies perfect and I fully expect us to get knocked off the top. As Adkins says there's a long way to go yet.
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rjh added 19:36 - Oct 27 Six points are a must v Boro and Peterboro.
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bstokesaint added 19:52 - Oct 27 Yeah, they are must win home games, but we do need to get some more points on the road. I've seen most of our away games and I can't quite understand how we've failed to win more of them. We are playing decent enough football. Will be pleased when Lallana is back. He is the biggest miss.
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sidsaint added 20:46 - Oct 27 I think NA knew the problems at the beginning of the season but was unable to get another striker and centre back due to poor negotiating and the determination of the likes of Leicester and West Ham to get what they wanted. It could be a long wait until the window opens. I agree we need to get more points on the road especially as our great home record can't go on for ever, can it?

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