When Saints take on Burnley on Saturday its time to put the recent poor form behind us and start to win games that will keep us in the promotion frame.

Lets be perfectly frank, over the past 12 games and the best part of three months, Saints have been poor, yes there has been the odd win here and there, three to be exact, but in the main 13 points from 12 games is not acceptable to any team, let alone one that harbours hopes of automatic promotion.

It cannot be called a blip, a blip is 2 or 3 games, not 12 which is over a quarter of a season and not that far off half of the games we have actually played so far, in fact its relegation form or as near as damn it, our average over this period if spread over 46 games would have given us 49 points, in the Championship last season Doncaster were fourth from bottom on 48, if that doesnt put this run in perspective then with if we continue in this vein of form then at the end of the season we will end up with 70 points, last season that total would have seen us eight in the Championship and not in even a play off spot, so lets not underestimate the severity of this current situation.

Many will turn round and say 8th was as good as we expected anyway, so we should be grateful to still be second, well I dont buy that argument, we played our way into a great position by mid November, we dont want to see that blown

Yes there have been the odd game when we have had an excuse, injuries and suspensions hit most sides at some point, but we had problems in the early part of the season when Richard Chaplow was suspended and then Dan Seaborne injured, we played through that then, we need to start doing so now.

There have been many fine words spoken during this near three month period, I hear much of how everyone is on the bus or rowing in the same direction, yet i dont see much of that on the pitch, I see a team that is directionless, leaderless and at times unsure of just what formation it should be playing.

This might seem a harsh critical view of manager Nigel Adkins and i can see why some would think that, but I like him as a manager and i truly hope that he goes on to become one of the greats in our history, but and its a big but, he has to start to turn this season back round and he has to do it fast, otherwise this could turn into one of the biggest downturns in Championship history, as was stated back in December, only one team in recent times has lead the league at Xmas and failed to get promotion, unless we hit form fast then we will surely be the second.

In recent weeks we have looked a little better, in the second half against Cardiff we played well and against Birmingham we were tight although we offered little threat up front, in some respects i dont include the cup debacle against Millwall, but it cant be ignored in that side were players who should have stepped up to the plate and didnt.

So its down to Nigel Adkins now, we know we have the players at the club, to be frank when a side is so good as we were in the first 17 games and then suddenly turn into such a poor side, you have to say its not the quality of the players, its something else and again to be blunt, this is where managers earn their corn.

In those 12 games we have not won two in a row, indeed for most of it we havent been able to go two games in a row unbeaten, this needs to change, its about small steps, beat Burnley and that gives us a good springboard to go to Upton Park, even a point would be good there, perhaps not in the short term but definately in the long, if we can do that we can look to built a run of winning games, no one behind us has really dont that themselves yet, hence we are still 2nd, but make no mistake someone will do soon and we need to make sure that someone is us

So in closing, this is not a rant about Nigel Adkins or a call for his sacking or anything drastic, I have every confidence that he will turn this round, however if we hadnt gone on this terrible run of results then I wouldnt be needing to write this article, a win on Saturday would be a big step in the right direction, lets take it

Photo: Action Images

Fordy added 10:56 - Feb 9 Virtually a full strength squad for Saturday. We need a win and then to follow that by not losing on Tuesday.
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Olley added 11:02 - Feb 9 I keep hearing this is the same team but so many people forget, this was on the back of a promotion at the start of the season & anyone who knows football, understands confidence is the difference between the same team playing well or not. As you have stated & so many recently, we have not had this for the last 12 games & thats the reality. So yes we might be the 2nd team not to make promotion but if I listen to many people we are already conditioning ourselves for failure, COYRS

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SaintEtienne added 11:06 - Feb 9 Over the past few months you've mentioned many a must win game. Finally you don't and this one really is just that. With no injuries in the main and new additions we really need a confidence boost for not only WH on Tuesday but also to kickstart the final push till the end of the season, in a similar vein to last season.
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SaintNick added 11:08 - Feb 9 My point is that after a good start you would expect it to tail of a bit, but not to drop so drastically as it has done
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nobby added 11:27 - Feb 9 Nick, we had a great start. Key to those first 10 games was the partnership between Lambert & Connolly also the superb form of Lallana. Unfortunately Connolly in my opinion is past his sell-by date. We also cannot rely solely on Lambert and Lallana which we were doing. My point is that the rest of the squad do not show the quality to carry us through the rest of the season in the top two of this league. The players we brought in recently were the wrong type of players; we didn't need any more strikers but needed a new keeper. We had nearly all the team scoring at one stage! We need a grittier mid-field and more creativity. What we can be sure of, if not promotion is a place in the Championship next season when will be more prepared for a fight in this division.

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tiptop added 11:35 - Feb 9 As NA said after Millwall he trusts his players to do a job. They did in the earlier part of the season. Not now. Question reg Tues:How with 2 wingers and attacking full backs that saints were unable to play the ball wide and attack Millwall in the first half? Answer:Because we were being pressed high up the pitch so we couldn't pass it and couldn't get the full backs out! Unacceptable! The players have the same quality as you say but have lost basic understanding. That might be down to specific tactics which worked perfectly well before. As mentioned playing the channels more and KD kicking the ball long when rolling out is not on. NA as you say Nick he needs to earn his corn. Things must change. His trust with certain players must be strained which calls for fresh bodies who can make a difference. Reeves in for Hammond for one. Shake it up a little. NA RAWA!! ps what is the chant if Lee scores on sat?!

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legod7 added 12:37 - Feb 9 tiptop,You say " Reeves in for Hammond for one" Ithought Hammond had a good game on Tuesday and was the only midfield player tracking back to help protect the defence.
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icehorsestud added 12:41 - Feb 9 How do we stop the rot? Well, lets dissect the team into Defence, Midfield and Strikers. We are scoring goals, there were some positives on Tuesday. We scored twice, 3 times if you count the one that was not offside. We hit the woodwork and had several other chances. I don't think there is a problem up front. Hopefully our highly intelligent players will work out that Chun Lee is about 5ft 2 and 8 stone wringing wet. He needs the ball played to his feet through not long high balls. The Midfield needs both Chaplow and Ben Reeves. Young Ben was brilliant on tuesday, pinpouint passes and attacks the goal, as does Chaplow. Ben is already better than Cork who is unable to shoot for some reason. Guly is just not clever enough does not have enough ball control to hold the ball up and lay it off, he is simply not good enough and he was lucky not to have been red carded for his clumsy tackling. Our main problem though is the defence and specifically none of our full backs are good enough at this level. They were at fault for all 3 goals and their distribution and crosses are appalling. Fox is better than Harding, but not by much. And another thing.... why can't NA tell them to stop pissing about at the back with short passes that put us under pressure when we lose it? Everything was just too slow on Tuesday. And another thing....why are we incapable of taking decent throw-ins? mainly because there is no movement, nobody seems to want it. And one last thing, honest, why do we take rubbish corners that sail over the back post, where we have failed to put anyone? So, Nige, a couple of classy fullbacks and a rocket up everyone else's a***s needed - then we can get back to winning. COYR.

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Whatsforpud added 13:13 - Feb 9 Icehorsestud has brought up something I highlighted some time ago about corners. We should always have someone waiting deep, perhaps just off the far corner of the goal area. Then the corner taker can feel he can hit it with pace, and not be looping it over for the keeper to catch.
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darkangelv2 added 13:16 - Feb 9 icehorse stud - By Chun Lee i assume you mean Tadanari? He's 6ft. But yes, get it on the floor for the boy. I agree that defence is our weakness right now and we put huge pressure on ourselves when we play it from the back. What's worse is the pressure that is put on the defenders often leads to an inaccurate hoof that comes straight back. Can we just trust Davis to find Lambert like he always used to Nigel? Pleeeeease :)

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nobby added 13:45 - Feb 9 Icehorsestud: You are a little of the mark. We are not scoring goals! Well, not as many as we were. In the first 10 games we scored 25, then next 10 we scored 17, the last 9 we have scored 9. The defence has been consistent all season except that we do not keep enough clean sheets but they have got no better or worse as the season has progressed. We don't have a problem scoring goals as long as the attack has the supply. In defence of Fox; he is the 4th best provider of assists so far! This is the only thing that makes him better than Harding. The major problem is the goalkeeper and midfield. Nuff said.

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sholingred added 16:00 - Feb 9 I agree with nobby,the goalkeeper position was imo the priority position,Davis cost points at home to Cardiff coming for a punch and completely missing the ball,and more games as well,Nigel pearson realised he was a weak link and got Richard wright in,the goal at Fratton that people blame guly for when he was on the post,never mention the keeper coming out to catch it,when the ball has looped up in the air,any mobile half decent keeper would have dealt with that easy.

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nobby added 16:48 - Feb 9 The lack of goals has just highlighted why it is so important to keep that clean sheet, obvious I know, but this is what needs attention and is what Nick pointed out ages ago.
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bstokesaint added 18:40 - Feb 9 Our full backs are capable of playing at this level and there is nothing wrong with Kelvin in goal. He's a quality keeper. The problem is the way we play means the midfield often leave the full backs exposed. Richardson's deliveries into the box when he goes forward are often pinpoint. Not getting involved with the Harding/ Fox debate, but I think either can do a job in this division. I just think we need to work a little harder for each other further up the pitch and believe we're good enough. I agree with previous posts that our set pieces are generally a waste of time.

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bstokesaint added 18:47 - Feb 9 And if anyone asks why then do I think we're doing so bad it's because we've been missing key players for so many games. That has knocked the other players' confidence and it's obvious to see. There are no excuses on Saturday and I expect us to be back to our best and kick on from a positive result.
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nobby added 20:10 - Feb 9 bstokesaint: your last comment backs up that we have no cover for our key players and that our squad is not as strong as we are led to believe. Although I can't see at what point why we would have lost confidence. Even so recent as Boxing day when we beat Palace 2-0 we looked like we were full of confidence and yet the next game we lost our unbeaten record at home to Bristol! How did that happen? Then at Brighton up until the point when Ricki got sent off every Saints fan thought we were going on to win that game. Perhaps that was the moment?

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bstokesaint added 20:20 - Feb 9 That Rickie incident actually coincided with my first holiday of the year. Was shocked when I saw that on the internet after beating them emphatically at home. I think that did rock us because some key decisions went against us. Bristol was also a big blow because a poor team did the double over us. I take your point about cover in some positions, as players I thought would step in seem to bottle it. I think this has surprised NA too. Maybe we will be forced into a loan signing or two, but the main XI have no excuses now.

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