They say "When the going gets tough the tough get going " but that hasn't been the case in the past few games for Southampton.
The most worrying thing about Saints defeats recently and especially the exit from the Capital One Cup was the lack of leadership on the pitch, in difficult times a football team looks to its senior players to lead by example and steady the ship, but in recent games our so called senior players have been found wanting in this department.
Whilst it cannot be argued that the Captain Jose Fonte had been outstanding in the opening games of the season, his form in the last six games has not been of an acceptable standard and his leadership qualities have been exposed, just as we have been looking for a calm experienced head, he has let himself down, not just by his form, all players suffer a bout of poor form, but by the way he has failed to lead the side.
But Fonte is far from alone, he must bear the brunt because he is the captain of the side, but at Bramall lane too many senior players panicked and played with fear when they should have been leading by example.
The series of bookings that we have got of late have been the result of indiscipline and panic, a month or so ago Nathaniel Clyne looked an assured confirdent full back, up at Sheffield he was booked because he swung a leg at a ball which at the time required a calm head and instead he looked like a Sunday Pub Team full back as he scythed down his opponent.
In this game we should have been looking for certain players to take control of the team by that example but few did, Shane Long was perhaps the one player who could come off the field at the end and put his hand on his heart and say he put in an honest evening's work, perhaps you could add James Ward Prowse to that, but literally everyone else was cowered by a side who not exactly setting League One alight and that is the worst part about it.
In many respects Saints havent played badly in recent games, but in each of them they have been let down by indiscipline and a lack of concentration and as i say its been the senior players who have been the worst offenders.
On Saturday against Everton we need Jose Fonte as Captain to lead by example, we need the other senior players to help him by doing the same, if they do that then we should be more than capable of breaking this circle of bad luck and mistakes and getting back to winning ways.
Tuesday night's game was a big blow, but the fact remains that we start this weekend in fifth place, we can keep that and perhaps even get back in the top four if we beat Everton, good teams do not become bad teams overnight, however we need to get the confidence back quickly before it starts to become a millstone around our neck.
I have every confidence that we have the players to pull through this difficult time, however they need to start showing that they are the men for the job.