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.

Photo: Action Images

ChristchurchSaint added 12:27 - Dec 18 Where's Jimmy Case when you need him? :) Seriously, Although Jose needs to show why he is captain, I don't think that having Toby, then Maya, then Florin beside him has helped his confidence. When we were settled and had Jose/Toby together, we were not conceding goals, so maybe RoKo has to look seriously at his central defensive pairing and decide whether it is strong enough when we get injuries in that area.

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thegeneral added 12:47 - Dec 18 Bit Harsh on Fonte, he's had a good relationship with Toby A but had to deal with two weaker players in Yoshi and Gardos, he's bound to have less confidence in these players and feel a greater defensive burden on his own shoulders. I'd rather he kept his concentration instead of running round the field biggin every one up. Most of the senior players left last summer or are injured/suspended, there aren't or certainly weren't against Sheffield many on the pitch, Clyne and Wanyama are young, Long and Bertie are new boys, JWP was up for it and clearly wanted it, Morgan was about the only other senior player on the pitch but i suspect 'his head' is somewhere else. We've been bitten by reality, the fixture list put us high up the league, a run of tough games has dented our confidence, although in most seasons we wouldn't expect much from ManU/City, Arsenal etc, and we've been unfortunate to meet them in quick succession, Burnley played us at the right time for them, and we would have beaten Sheffield had Cork and Davis been fit and Lambert not stupidly sold for a dream. One man can't restore confidence overnight, a win or two and a couple of signings will help, but ultimately we are destined for a lower top ten finish and it will be the usual suspects in the top 4/5, with the exception of Liverpool haha.

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WinchesterExile added 12:52 - Dec 18 You give Jose some stick but you don't give specific evidence of his leadership qualities being exposed or failing to lead the side. What makes you say this? He's always fired up for games, always has something to say in the huddle, drags players away from confrontations and, at least tries, to organise the defence at set-plays.
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BoondockSaint added 13:28 - Dec 18 Jose is a a class act who, in a lot of ways is the heart of the club (why the King of the Whingers was captain last year, I have no idea!). As others have said, he is having hard time doing his job and covering for others at the same time. Only problem is he is maybe too much of a team player and won't rip into a teammate who is slacking off, like Mane. Maybe he needs Big Vic as vice captain to get the others in line. Maybe RoKo needs an former hard man as assistant to give the players the hair dryer in the lockerroom. While I really like RoKo's "we don't laugh when we win and don't S#!t when we lose" attitude, once in a while some players need a bit of stick, and we seem to have a few. On another note, if you stop and think, when was the last time we had a decent cross or service from a corner or free kick?

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SonicBoom added 14:12 - Dec 18 Nick you keep referring to bad luck. It isn't luck. We simply haven't created and scored enough chances or defended well enough. When we fix that, we will suddenly appear 'luckier'.....
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