Football clubs spend a lot of time briefing their trusted confidante's in the media, much more than the average football fans think, the signs are that they are doing just that now.

The biggest factor in football for supporters is perception, the fans often don't look at things rationally, they see the situation as how they perceive it to be, rather than reality sometimes.

The crowd can influence that perception, if you read the posts of some Saints supporters on social media it would lead you to believe that this is the worst Saints team and they have just had the worst season in the club's history, or at least in the top flight part of it.

Whilst it cannot be denied that the football has been awful at times, the reality is that on paper 8th position and a major cup final is arguably the 4th best season in the clubs history, that is hard to argue with rationally, but you will be hard pressed to find a Saints supporter who perceives that.

Therefore football clubs in the modern world spend a lot of time on PR, they know the value of putting out stories to the media and using trusted journalists to subtly get their message across, a football club stopped long ago believing that the entire fan base took what they read in official club outlets such as the club programme or web page as gospel, therefore they have to get the perception out there through a different channel.

As I write this a look at Saints related news shows that there is a disproportionate amount of stories claiming that Virgil Van Dijk is desperate to play for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool, that may or may not be true, but someone somewhere is briefing the media, possibly from Liverpool Football Club but more likely from an agent.

This story may have little truth in it, but a couple of stories slipped into the maelstrom soon mushroom and give people the perception that Van Dijk wants to go to Anfield.

So it is interesting to read a couple of articles this week from journalists close to St Mary's, first PR rule of running a football club is to get the local paper on side and this morning Adam Leitch of the Daily Echo has published an interesting piece that in many ways is aimed at giving Saints supporters perception of the situation.

The headline "Claude Puel's position as Southampton manager still in doubt" is aimed at showing Saints supporters that something is being done and that that the board are well aware of the fanbase's discontent and why they feel that way.

It goes on to say that no one can accuse the club or Les Reed in particular of knee jerk reactions, it clarifys that this season was not the disaster that some would have you believe.

It suggests to the supporters that whilst change is being considered, that whoever comes in has to be better than Puel and that unless the club can do that they may not make this decision.

This is where the article starts to take a different slant, having addressed the supporters concerns about Puel, it starts to try and give the perception that the decision is still far from made.

It states that Saints will want to know they can get a top target before making a change, it is saying yes we want to make a change, that Les Reed will be all too aware that simply pleasing the crowd by sacking Puel would not be in the best interests if they end up having to settle on a replacement, or are forced into a massive gamble.

It tries to give the impression that there is a lot going on and therefore if it doesn't come off and Puel stays, then this decision has been arrived at by a lengthy process and is seen as in the best interests of the club.

Many decry the Daily Echo, this comes from the Cortese days when he banned the paper from St Mary's and tried to make it out as a thorn in the clubs side not an ally, this is where our former Chairman went wrong, he had to grasp the fact that as a newspaper the Echo has to print the bad things as well as the good, but if you keep them close then they will go easy on the bad and headline the good.

So reading Adam Leitch's piece this morning suggests that the club are on the verge of a decision either way, but they are trying to manage the fans expectations, something they have failed to do quite a lot over the past few years, now they are doing so and it is good to see.

The fact that this piece is out there is an indication that something could happen at St Mary's very soon, that the club are in control of the situation, but if it doesn't come off just yet they are prepared to play the waiting game.

After the success's of the last three seasons both on the pitch and in the transfer market, perhaps the supporters should have the perception that the club have a strategy and do know what they are doing, yes they will make mistakes, but they have got it right enough in the past that they should be entitled to some patience from the supporters that they will continue to do so in the future.

Photo: Action Images

SonicBoom added 09:24 - May 31 Nick you don't mention the impact of the ownership question on the managers situation. Would the current regime take it upon themselves to change the manager at this stage? We were told a few weeks ago that the ownership situation would be clarified any time now but as yet nothing. Surely if the club is being sold then Kat would not make such a big decision at this late stage - unless of course it's approved by the new owners....

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BaselSaint added 09:34 - May 31 Nick, in our defence the reason we see the situation as how we perceive it to be rather than reality is that we mostly exist in an information vacuum for weeks on end. I can't see that changing even with cryptic messsages via the echo. Considering we pay all the money to the club directly or indirectly it's still a tortuous few weeks with no satisfactory conclusion as a possibility.

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dirk_doone added 10:19 - May 31 Nick, according to your articles, the fans and Cortese are to blame for everything that goes wrong at the club, now and forever. Meanwhile, Les and Kat are a totally infallible and and should be worshipped like deities. You have been in a bit of a quandary over Puel because if the fans want him replaced then they must be totally wrong but if Kat and Les want him replaced then they must be totally right, and, of course, if he is replaced and the next manager is a failure then it must be the fault of the fans and Cortese.

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highfield49 added 11:03 - May 31 If your interpretation of the cryptic clues is correct Nick then, if I was Puel, I would be on the verge of walking away from the club. Hardly a vote of confidence in the manager if they are publicly stating, however cryptically, that if we can get our preferred choice in you´re out of a job. If media reports that he has been speaking to clubs in France are correct he is at least showing some dignity in not jumping ship immediately. Maybe we deserve dodgy Chinese owners and Gus Poyet imported as manager from Shanghai as a reward for some fairly unpleasant conspiracy.

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SaintNick added 11:09 - May 31 Dirk I have never blamed Cortese for any problems at the club that I have not looked at closely and come to that conclusion, turns out though I was right, I have never blames the fans for problems at the club either, i have criticised the fans reactions at times but they are never to blame as they dont pick the manager or finance the club. I dont think Les & Cat are infallible, however although Les Reed has made many mistakes I do find it hard to take criticism of Kat who has never done anything other than good for the club and has done the right thing by us when it would have been easier to cut her losses so to speak and sell to the first bidder , the ones who moan at her for not putting her hand in her pocket are the same ones that dont put their own hands in their pockets for season tickets etc. Dirk I am not in a quandary over Puel I can look at both sides of the story, I dont resort to childish sniping when people do not agree with me, as you are doing now because i dared to criticise Jose Fonte 3 years ago and you have never forgiven me for it, despite the fact that I have often praised him since

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saintjoe added 13:37 - May 31 dirk_doone 10:19 I usually agree with most of your comments and I am totally in agreement with your post here. It is spot on........a perfect summary of the situation.
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Jesus_02 added 20:21 - May 31 the only thing that i really blame Cortese for is not giving Nick a free season ticket or something just to keep him happy. Cortese has long gone and we are still having to hear about "What Coretese did wrong". We played great football, didn't sell any players (AOC accepted) and got back to back promotions. There is little else the club could have achieved. Please just drop it.

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SaintBrock added 16:33 - Jun 2 No.
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