It is fair to say that over the last three years Saints supporters have been a little peeved by the sale of some of our top players , now they want the club to make a stand.
One of the downsides of our strategy over the past few years has been that we have not only brought through some decent players via the academy, but we have had a knack for discovering players, bringing them in cheaply and turning them into the finished article and then been preyed upon by the so called bigger clubs.
Some Saints fans ask why so many players don't seem to leave the likes of Stoke or Swansea, the answer is simple, they have not produced the array of talent that we have and certainly not in the same numbers.
The stark reality though is that we have to do this to be able to compete in the Premier League, we cannot match the big six clubs in terms of income through the normal channels, we have to generate ours through the buying and selling of players.
That is not going to please the supporters, but they should consider the fact that if we had not had that fire sale of 2014, then there is a good chance we would not have progressed as we have done in the following three seasons, it has enabled us to build a squad and not a team.
But this strategy has to be implemented on our terms, we cannot have players snapping their fingers and demanding to leave at the drop of a hat, we have made it clear that yes our strategy involves letting a player go when the price is right, that helps us sign the best young talent as they know we will further their careers, some will moan that we are being used as a stepping stone, but that is reality we do not have the resources of any of those top six clubs.
But sometimes the club has to stand firm, they have the history of doing so, in 2014 Morgan Schneiderlin was told he could not leave and in 2015 it was the same scenario with Victor Wanyama, both of these issues were very similar to what is happening now with Virgil Van Dijk, the players back then were both unsettled by underhand dealings, both told Saints they would not play and missed games and ultimately both were told that they would have to play another season and found they were under contract.
That is the situation now with Virgil Van Dijk, he was happy to sign a six year deal barely 12 months ago, he was happy for Saints to keep paying him for the last six months when he was injured, so why should it be unfair for the club to ask him to stay and honour that contract for a little while longer.
The truth is that if Liverpool had gone about things in the right manner and Van Dijk too, then the chances are that this deal would have been done this summer, it is likely that a bid of £70 million would have been attractive too us, we could have sold him on and repeatd the process that we have done so well over the past few seasons and in doing so strengthened the squad, every player has his price and if we receive over that price then it is good business, especially when that player has been injured for the last six months with no guarantees he will be the same player.
But this has not been done in the right manner and now Saints have to make a stand and refuse to sell Van Dijk to Liverpool, the rest of football are watching us and it would be fair to say that most of them will be hoping that we strike a blow for the underdog and show the so called big clubs that we cannot be rolled over at their will.
Most of the Saints fans I have spoken too would rather see Virgil Van Dijk train on his own for the rest of the season and to coin a now outdated phrase "rot in the reserves"
I don't blame Virgil Van Dijk for wanting to leave, I dont blame him for asking to leave, however he should be professional and he should know that having signed a contract he should be prepared to honour it, football is nothing more than a business these days, its not personal, but players have to behave like adults and not petulant children.
Behind the scenes now Saints will be quietly going on with things and talking to the player and waiting for Liverpool to come in with what will almost certainly be a derisory bid to inflame the situation.
But they need to also be very public in what they are going to do, they have already stated on many occasions that they will not sell Van Dijk, so they have to stick to their guns.
The reality though is that we have to do what is best for Southampton Football Club and should the right bid come in then we have to weigh up the situation, that will not please the fans, but it is a reality, but what should also be a reality is that Van Dijk is not sold unless that fee is substantially over his value, the fans will be agrieved and rightly so if we let him go for £60 million, it needs to be nothing short of £75-80 million.
This is going to be an interesting month, it is crucial for the club to keep the supporters firmly behind them and not going into meltdown, what they need to do is clear, we now need Les Reed and Ralph Krueger to show they mean business.