When Matt Targett slid in on Callum McManaman at the Hawthorns on Saturday Saints fans held their breath, the referee turned down the West Brom appeals and later replays showed he was spot on.
It seems that some Saints fans need to show the same honesty that Tony Pulis showed on Saturday when after watching replays of the tackle by Matt Targett on Callum McManaman, he thought that it was a dive and admitted that he would be having words with his player on Monday.
Although the penalty was turned down some Saints supporters seemed to be almost disappointed, Im sorry to say this but there are those out there who want certain players and Targett now seems to be one of them, to fail.
For those supporters nothing Matt Targett does will be good enough, they make no allowances for the fact that he is young and inexperienced and doing a job when there is no one else to do it, but look for every opportunity to slag him off and some are very verbal.
One of those sat near me did not seem relieved that a penalty was not awarded when McManaman went down, but almost ecstatic that it was evidence that Targett was not up to the job.
This is a worrying tendency that seems to be creeping into football these days, perhaps its my pet hate but I am not making it up as those at West Brom will testify.
It turns out that Targett's tackle was clean, it was a good challenge that prevented a goalscoring opportunity, if it had been Ryan Bertrand making it then those same people would have been screaming dive, yet because it is Targett it was a different matter.
Matt Targett may be asking himself what he has done to justify this level of hatred from this sizeable minority, all he has done this season has been the only left back in the club to replace the injured Ryan Bertrand, he it could be said after some of the abuse might well have been more justified than Wanyama if he had turned round to Ronald Koeman and said he could not play because his head was not in the right place etc.
But he didnt ! he has not hidden, he tries to do the right things and is not afraid to to that when it would be easier just to slam the ball forward.
Those that seem to hate Targett will tell me that he is not good enough, well the fact, the undisputed fact is that he was a better player than Wanyama in Denmark and against Norwich City, he was a better player because he was there and wanting to play, now I don't want to make this a thing against Wanyama, but at this moment Im more inclined to applaud Targett for his efforts than sing a song about Wanyama being the mighty Kenyan.
So fair play to Tony Pulis for his honesty and now lets see some honesty in Saints fans and see them get behind honest players tring to do their best for the club.