This could perhaps be the biggest game since Saints return to the premier League in 2012, three points is essential.
Sadly whilst Brighton go into this game with the benefit of a couple of new faces into the squad to boost their morale, we go into it having to use the same players that have won only once in three months in the Premier league, plus the addition of one unfit new signing.
Now normally I would not be too concerned about this, the squad we have is strong in all departments bar in the centre of defence, but like the rest of the season the issue is likelt to be the manager being unable to make the right decisions tactically and more succintly make the right substitutions at the right times.
Given that on Saturday his last two substitutions were just plain baffling makes me believe he has learned nothing and seems determined to play to his own tactical wants, rather than to the qualities of his squad.
The team is packed with quality and it's problem is it's manager !
I cannot even predict the team, the manager will do something totally out of the blue which makes no sense to almost anyone else in the ground, I just hope that he gets lucky.
But we can only hope the team can play to it's potential in spite of it's manager and not because of it, but I fear the game will follow a similar pattern, we will start well, take the lead and then in the second half run out of steam because Pellegrino cannot bring on fresh legs in the right positions and we will concede sloppy goals because of this.
As I always say, do the same things, get the same results and this game a has 1-0 lead eradicated by a goal or two from Ulloa coming on late and getting a couple of chances unmarked.
I have given this manager time, yet I see nothing to suggest he is doing anything different to gain us points, anything we get we get through the sheer graft of our players who often run themselves into the ground whilst the manager takes off someone still with energy.
After this game if we have still failed to bring in anyone else in the window, win or lose something has to change, if it its not new players coming in, then it has to be the manager, sad to have to say it, but that will be the only option left.
So tonight we have to make it not about the manager, it has to be about the fans getting behind the team and inspiring it to a great victory, the game has to be all about the supporters and the players and the manager has to be peripheral.
So get along there and remember that this is about Southampton Football Club, not Mauricio Pellegrino or for that matter Les Reed, it has to be another great night like many that have gone before.
We have the players, we have the supporters, we just don't have the manager, but sometimes that doesn't matter.