Duo boost Pompey as boss talks up Newport's hopes
Kyle Bennett and Kal Naismith could be back in the Pompey squad at the weekend - and that looks set to spell the end of the brief 3-5-2 experiment.
The duo missed the 3-0 defeat at Stevenage, forcing Paul Cook into switches that made him go with a three-at-the-back arrangement that was not successful.
Bennett's ankle problem and Naismith's hamstring niggle are still being monitored but The News is reporting that both could be okay for the Fratton Park encounter with Newport County.
The paper says Bennett is responding well to treatment on his turned ankle, although has to return to full training and Naismith’s hamstring is believed to be strained rather than torn, which represents encouraging news.
Pompey will be without Christian Burgess following his red card at the Lamex, with Tom Davies likely to deputise alongside Matt Clarke.
Meanwhile Newport boss Mike Flynn is looking forward to his relegation strugglers' visit to Fratton. He told the NCFC website: 'We’ve gone there for the last three years and won. I’m confident and I believe in the players. The fight they have shown me and the chances they are creating now is very encouraging. I’m hoping the boys go and enjoy themselves on a great pitch.
"I remember being at other clubs when near or around the top and playing the bottom clubs was always a hard game because they’re always fighting for their lives. I think we’ve picked up in the last few games and I can’t see why we can’t go there and give them a good game. At the end of the day, anybody can beat anybody in this league.”
Click here to sign up for an account and reserve your username! You can then post on the Forum and add your comments to articles
What to read next:
A Rough Guide To Leeds UnitedA 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.
Southampton V Stoke City The VerdictThis should have been a celebratory day for Saints fans, there should have been a feeling of positivity, but the truth is that the fight has been knocked out of the supporter base and we go into the play offs with confidence both on and off the pitch at a low ebb.
Saints V Stoke City A Look Back In Pictures 2In the second part of our pictorial look back at some of our games against Stoke City from the past, here we look back at more recent games, so most of you would have been at them.
Southampton V Stoke City The PreviewSaints go into the last two games of the season with their hopes of automatic promotion ended, even the hope of finishing 3rd is only a point away from being ended, but they do have something to play for and that is getting back the togetherness, character & fight Russell Martin has recently be moaned.
No Togetherness No Character No FightNot my words, but those of Southampton manager Russell Martin, who should ask himself the question why two months ago we had all those attributes and now we don't !
Southampton At Leicester The DebacleThe big question is how can a side that was so tight at the back, so clinical up front and who could pass the ball around almost with their eyes closed, become the disorganised rabble that they were at the Leicester City this evening.