After a long season it now all comes down to one game and ninety minutes of football, this is no time to lose our nerve now either on or off the pitch.
For the most part of this season I have talked of the need to treat every game as must win, of how if we do that we will achieve our aims long before the final day of the season, throughout that time i would often be lambasted by those who would tell me that I was stupid, that it would be a long season and that we had plenty of games left to achieve promotion and in any case In Nigel They Trusted ! or words to that effect.
So here we are approaching the last game on the final day of the season and if we want to be absolutely sure of promotion being in our own hands, then we need to win it, Im sure the pedants who picked holes in me all season are now in a real dilemma, do they have a smile on their face for showing me just who is right, or are they wringing their hands in anguish for Saints leaving it so late and allowing West Ham back into the game.
Already Im seeing messages both on the home page and the message board with various people getting very worried, in some cases from those who where so confident months, even weeks ago, yet now they are trembling in their boots as they start to realise we are going into this game on a bit of a slippery slope.
All season I talked of the season being a little mini leage where we split it up into six games segments and concentrate on getting a two point average, for the most part of the season we succeeded in this, however in the last six it has gone badly wrong with only seven points gained out of the last six and its been this lax performance that has seen us let West Ham back into the final day promotion frame, now is the time to do what we have always managed to do on every bad run so far this season..... and that is end it.
Yes everything comes down to this one game, yes two points average may not be enough, so we have to get the full three, but why are some panicking now, the stark truth is any neutral observer would still say we are in pole position, I would not swap our position for West Ham's and as I have said, if we had the choice of a team we had to play in this do or die game, then it would sure as hell be Coventry at home, of course nothing is predictable, but all things being equal, here is a team with the worst away record in the division, with the lowest goals scored and just about the most conceded, what more do some Saints fans want.
So now is the time to hold it all steady, believe in the manager and the team, all Nigel Adkins has to do is not panic, look at his team and prepare them properly, if he does this then there is no reason why we should not take a grip of the game from the very start and make sure that it is won a long time before the final whistle, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
This starts at the top, if the manager exudes quiet calm and confidence, that will pass down to the players, if they walk onto the pitch in that mood then it all comes down to us the fans, we have to have that belief from the moment the players appear, we have to show them we believe and that we are right behind them, by this i dont mean the arrogant cocky attitude that many of our supporters have displayed for most of the season with the "We are top of the league" "Do what we want" "Never play you again" chants that have been prevalent for much of this term and which now seem very redundant, but the way in which we used to conduct ourselves, when we as fans remained focused on being right behind our team, it was a spirit that carried us through some big releagtion battles in the 90's and indeed our great cup run of 2003, back then we werent arrogant, we were merely confident in our ability to win a game of football, we didnt taunt Watford at the FA Cup semi at Villa Park before or after the game, we quietly knew what was needed and got it done, we need to do this on Saturday.
So now is not the time for anyone to lose their bottle or doubt our ability, its not about TV jinxes etc, after all when we beat Leeds at home on the opening day of the season live on TV no one spoke of jinxes then, so we dont need to start now, cometh the hour cometh the man and by 2.30pm on Saturday we shall see the answers to many questions asked this season.