Mauricio Pellegrino has confirmed that he will be taking the game against Wolverhapton Wanderers very seriously as he strives to emulat last seasons showing in the competition.

Maurcio Pellegrino has spoken ahead of the the League cup game against Wolves and he will not be taking the competition lightly, whilst it is inevitable that some changes will be made from Saturday, it seems that they will not be wholesale and a strong side will be fielded.

“I will think about it but for me the most important is to put out the best players to win the game and not use it as a training session.

“I will analyse and I don’t know who will play.

“I will try to use the best players who I think will be more ready to play.”

Pellegrino will feel that having at least two strong options in every position, he will need to consider the needs of giving some of these options game time as well as making sure his side is still competitive and able to progress to the next round.

The club will have told Pellegrino that whilst the Premier league is the main objective, that a good cup run and attempting to make a final still remains a priority.

“We have to start for the first step and it’s the only thing we have right now,”

“The first game will be very difficult.

“Wolves is a tough team with good players, good performances and in a good way.

“Every single game here in England is difficult and we have to do our best to pass to the second step.”

So Saints fans going to St Mary's tonight can expect to see a decent side out there, although the manager is likely to hold back some first teamers on the bench as insurance.

One man unlikely to play is Mario Lemina who will probably be rested after his leg was split open by Mark Noble on Saturday , new signing Wesley Hoedt too is unlikely to feature, but perhaps the manager will consider a small role to assimilate him into the squad with the view of using him on Saturday at Huddersfield.

Photo: Action Images

underweststand added 11:39 - Aug 23 Ever since Saints returned to the Prem. the Cup competitions seem to have taken second place to the "priority " of getting a good finishing place for Europa League (lets not talk about CL atm). Pochettino's disregard for the Cups led to two defeats against sub standard Sunderland sides, when we had every possibility of progressing to the final stages. Last season success has awakened the players and fans to the prospect of another Wembley final by concentrating on trying to win half-a-dozen key games. Putting aside the "dream scenario" of having our best ever season and coming in top 4 (!)...we should play the best possible side and go for a Final Place once again. Well said Mauricio.

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redwight added 12:06 - Aug 23 It's nothing to do with this subject I know, but I've just read about the death of Bill Green, chief scout of SFC on the official website. I suspect most of us have never heard of him, but reading the entry, it is clear that we owe him a huge debt. Truly an unsung hero in an age when the expression is much overused.
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bstokesaint added 12:55 - Aug 23 Nothing angers me more than putting out a sub standard team in a cup and trivialising the whole experience, which should be exciting. Some of the best games I can remember were cup games, including my all time favourite when we beat Bolton Wanderers and Barry Horne scored one of the most memorable goals I can remember at The Dell when he scored a 35-40 yard effort to equalize in the 90th minute before we went on to win in extra time. I've said it on many occasions before but I think the four Champions Leagues spots should be allocated differently with only two spots awarded in the league to the winners and runners-up. Why should third and fourth get a "Champions" spot when they're champions of absolutely nothing? Give the last two spots to the winners of the domestic cups who have actually won something. It would certainly make managers manage their teams better and give the cups back the glory they deserve. And on a final note whoever plays tonight should know that 'their' spot is not safe and we now have players fighting for every position.

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SaintBrock added 13:12 - Aug 23 Not seen any training pics so don't know Lemina's situation, is he officially injured? I'd expect to see him and Hoedt in action this evening at some stage just to get them a bit fitter and in contention for the difficult trip to North Yorkshire. I do agree with bstokesaint, we should be in it to win it as with all competitions. As for revising the CL format no chance, UEFA only want glamour names in their competition to spin as much money as they can. If Man U, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich started finishing 6th in their respective leagues it wouldn't be long before UEFA expanded the CL to include the top 6! It's all about money, nowt else.

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BoondockSaint added 13:58 - Aug 23 Sorry I could only give you one ^ vote bstokesaint-you are absolutely right. In fact, I would make it only for the actual champions not even second gets it. But as SaintBrock points out, its all about helping the big names line their pockets. Same reason teams that get knocked out of the Champions League get to drop down and feed on smaller teams in the Europa League. It's to help them get recoup some of the TV money they lost when they got knocked out, then claim glory and prize money by beating up on smaller teams.

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IanRC added 21:42 - Aug 23 Shame we didn't try to win then ..... A very poor performance
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Sanguin added 11:21 - Aug 24 It turns out that Pellegrino was lying when he said this game wouldn't be a training session.
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