x

Saints Need To Hold Steady

A good weekend for Saints

It was a good weekend for Saints as the race for second starts to sort out the wheat from the chafe, it could have been better but sadly Tranmere couldnt repeat their win over Saints against Huddersfield, but Peterborough who looked strong a week or so ago now look to be heading for the last chance saloon as they face two away trips to Dagenham on Tuesday and then Huddersfield next Saturday.

But for Saints its about doing what they have to do and three points against MK Dons is al, that could be asked and f Saints can do that again on Tuesday against Charlton then the pendulum will swing greatly in our favour as we will pull within two points of Huddersfield with two games in hand and that will put pressure on the Terriers to beat Posh.

But for Saints its all about holding steady with the nerves and remaining focussed, promotion is a war of attrition and as i have been saying for the last month or so, we have to accept that Huddersfield and indeed Peterborough will win more than they lose, but by winning our games we put them under stress and we dont want to let them off the hook by dropping points ourselves.

I still maintain that 85 points is going to be the target we need to focus on and an average of two points per game needs to be maintained, in fact after our win against MK Dons, if we hit our target we finish on 86 points that should be more than enough.

One good piece of news is that we have basically been hitting that target since the sixth game of the season, if you take out the five games and the four points that we got from them before Nigel Adkins arrived we have got 64 points from 32 games, we just need to maintain this average, also good is the fact that we have made up most of that deficit since the new year, yes at times our league form has been patchy in that we havent put more than four wins on the bounce togather, but to get promotion we dont have to do anything we havent been doing since that sixth game.

Of course Huddersfield will feel the same way, but they started the season well and they are nowehere near that two points per game average, but it is going to be tight, after all if we maintain the target over the three games in hand then we would be one point ahead of the Terriers, not a massive gap, so of course we need to keep puttting the scores on the doors.

The key is winning the home games, win all of them and we will be nearly home and dry, fact is we arent going to completely make up the games in hand till the Monday prior to the last game of the season when we travel to Plymouth, but we can get another 12 points from our home matches, get them and thats up to eighty points and the finishing line is in site.

Charlton is a must win game, win it and we can head on the road with confidence, Brighton away aside there is no one to fear on our travels and even our trip to the Seagulls should find them already Champions before we arrive and therefore perhaps not as committed as we will be.

Heaven is whenever we get the points that secure us automatic promotion, until then we just need to be tight, focussed and have the confidence that we are the best squad in the division and that we are where we are due to individual errors, without them we would already be on the verge of promotion ourselves like Brighton 

         

What to read next:

Saints At West Bromwich Albion A Pictorial History
With our second visit to the Hawthorns looming, we again take a look through our photo archives at some of our previous visits, did you go to any of these games ? Leave your memories in the comments section below.
Russell Martin Lays Out Play Off's Strategy For Ross Stewart
Southampton fans at Leeds United hailed the appearance off the bench of Ross Stewart, now with Saints sailing into the play offs, Russell Martin has revealed just what the plans will be for the striker.
A Rough Guide To West Bromwich Albion
Our second trip to the Hawthorns of the season, it is the same 2,000 allocation as the League game, but this time it is an afternoon fixture so more will go by train than back in February, anyway here is all the info that you need.
Southampton At Leeds United The Verdict
Saints finished the season with a flourish, to give hope that they can go into the play offs with discipline & organisation as well as the confidence that they can beat anyone that they meet.
Leeds United 1 - 2 Southampton - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Saints Announce Ticket Pricing Information For Play Off Semi Final
The opponents won't be known until Saturday afternoon, but Southampton FC have announced their ticket pricing structure and how the tickets will be sold to give supporters plenty of time to sort their tickets out.
Time For The Spirit Of Southampton Football Club
Recent months have seen a number of events and issues divide opinion and split the supporter base but as we head towards the play offs it is time for everyone at Saints to kick in the same direction.
Should Russell Martin Put Out Another Reserve Side For Leeds United Trip
Against Stoke City Russell martin selected a side that was very much a second string line up, with the play offs looming should the manager repeat this for the trip to take on Leeds on Saturday.
A Rough Guide To Leeds United
A big big game for just Leeds now, although by Saturday the odds on them going up automatically might have changed slightly so here is all the info for those travelling Saints fans who are still going,
Southampton Should Not Fear Anyone In The Play Offs.
The hope of getting back into the Premier League automatically has long gone, but the season is not yet over and we now have a good chance of getting to Wembley and going up through the play offs, here we look at who we could meet.