Saints V Tottenham Hotspur The Preview Friday, 24th Apr 2015 10:55 This was perhaps the most eagerly anticipated match for Saints supporters since the moment the fixtures came out, but few thought that it would be so important. When the Premier league fixtures came out last June this was perhaps the fixture that all Saints fans looked for, the return of current public enemy number 1 Mauricio Pochettino, back last summer there was a suspicion that he might be joined by a Saints player or two in Tottenham colours. Ten months on and Saints season has panned out in a much better way than most Saints fans would have predicted, but Ronald Koeman showed that perhaps Pochettino had taken the club as far as he could, certainly I dont think the Argentinian could have rebuilt the squad and gelled it into a team that could challenge for the top four in such a way as Koeman has. Therefore Saturday's game should not be about Mauricio Pochettino but about Ronald Koeman, whatever the result is the reality is that the Dutchman has not only played a big part in rebuilding the squad, but he has helped take it another step forward, the truth is Southampton Football Club is in a lot healthier position than it was a year ago. So we have to concentrate on what we do best and not on Spurs, that means keeping it tight at the back and taking our chances when they come, there are those who say Spurs are no great shakes and I have to say sometimes it seems like that, they have scored more goals in the 90th minute or after than just about any other club and that is something we do have to watch out for from them. But this is a winnable game, Newcastle a team in the middle of a slump ran them close last week and indeed Aston Villa won at White Hart Lane a fortnight ago, in fact Spurs recent form is not great, out of the last six games they have taken 10 points, a reasonable total, but when you look at who they have played then it puts it into perspective, that total was boosted by a 4-3 win against then bottom of the table Leicester at WHL and a 2-1 win at QPR, in short their 3 wins were against just about the most out of form teams in the country at time of playing. So sometimes results do not tell the full story and that being the case Saints have nothing to fear, so we ned to use the energy that will be in evidence at St Mary's in a positive way and not let the hatred of Pochettino turn the atmosphere in their favour. One of the keys will be whether Toby Alderweireld is fit again, if he is hopefully he will be used in his natural position in the centre of defence, the quadary for Ronald Koeman though is that the man he would normally replace Yoshida is in better form than Jose Fonte. But now is the time for big decisions and if Alderweireld is fit we have to go for our best and strogest line up. In midfield yes we could have done with Wanyama being available, but I don't think it is a big a loss as some would have you believe, with Spurs we need to get the ball down and play and that being the case having two holding midfielders might be excessive and counter productive. Up front Pelle is going to play and some supporters have to deal with that and get behind him, Im sure he is desperate to score and prove some of his doubters wrong, if he does then it could prove the difference, the good thing is that we have good attacking options off the bench. So tomorrow is our biggest game of the season so far and perhaps when we look back at the season will be seen as the most pivotal one of the entire 38 fixtures. So lets get behind the team and enjoy playing for something other than avoiding relegation,Ronald Koeman has put us in a position to be competitive, lets savour the experience and help the team achieve perhaps even greater things. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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