After the defeat at Arsenal there has been a lot of discontent amongst Saints supporters, however we cannot let that affect the most important thing this week and that is the crunch fixture against Fulham.

As I stated in the match verdict on Monday, this season will not be defined by a defeat at Arsenal or indeed at Old Trafford on Saturday should that be the case, it will though be defined by the game against Fulham on Wednesday.

The last two games ending in defeat have been disappointing, but the fact still remains that in the last six fixtures we have taken 8 points and that is about par for the course to be on target to stay up.

In those fixtures the only one that went against expectation was the defeat to Cardiff City and that could of course be a season defining result, however we cannot change that result and therefore we need to put it behind us and concentrate on what will make a difference between now and the end of the season.

That means focusing on beating Fulham or indeed giving ourselves the best chance of beating them both on and off the pitch.

We cannot moan about players who have gone or who are injured etc, we have to rely on who we have and encourage them to play not only to their abilities but beyond them.

We win this game and we put pressure on the sides around us, it doesn't matter how we achieve that win, three points is all that matters end of.

Sadly there are still plenty of tickets left, it would be nice if a fair chunk of those are sold between now and kick off, Fulham themselves have not taken their full allocation so we have the chance to drown them out.

Saints have great support both home and away, but if there are empty seats for a game like this, then that is a sad state of affairs, I see so many people on social media talk about the club and proclaiming their love of it but also how they are not happy with certain sides of things, everyone has their own way of supporting and I am not going to criticise anyone who chooses to stay away, that is their choice.

But that is not my idea of supporting a football club, it needs it's supporters for the crucial games and this is certainly crucial, I cannot understand why someone would st at home when something they care passionately about is fighting for it's footballing life only a short distance away.

It is times like this when politics have to go out of the window, when the going gets tough the tough get going as they say and in this case that means going to St Mary'son Wednesday evening.

But more than just going, we all need to put our gripes behind us and get behind the team, as I mentioned the last two games have brought out a little bit of doom and gloom, but a win against Fulham will make things look that much rosier, we are far from being adrift there is a lot to play for this season.

As I say it is everyone's right to stay at home and not bother for their own personal reasons, but if they do that then they are hardly in a position to complain if things do not go our way.

We are in a stronger position than a year ago, this time last year we were in freefall, now we are winning games of football, just not every game, this is one we can win.

On Wednesday everyone needs to be positive, players, supporters, everyone who cares about the club, owners come and go, boards come and go, players come and go, managers come and go the only permanent thing about a football club is it's supporters, Wednesday is a time to stand up and be counted.

There are some who will say this is an apology for Gao Krueger etc, they could not be more wrong, this is about Southampton Football Club and all I care about on Wednesday is winning this game of football, everything else can wait.

If one person reads this and decides that they will go after all then I wil have achieved something, hopefully a few more than that will, we need an atmosphere of positivity help create it for the Fulham game.

Photo: Action Images

Saint_Chunk added 12:57 - Feb 26 Well said.
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bstokesaint added 13:26 - Feb 26 True Nick, the time for evaluating this mess is post season end. That said if we’re not reading a verdict saying what a big win it was for us come Thursday morning I absolutely fear the worst. We need wins and fast. Burnley showed no fear against Spurs and they took 3 points, we went to the Emirates (having beaten Ar$e already earlier in the season), expecting nothing and we took nothing. After the ‘results’ against Cardiff we’ve already proved we’re not better than the teams around us.

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landerwal added 13:33 - Feb 26 Good article, but I believe we could get a result at Manchester United, given they have a long injury list if this morning's reports are to be believed.
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wessexman added 15:33 - Feb 26 It seems quite bewildering the PR and commercial departments at St Mary's have not seen fit to drop the prices to ensure a full house. Given the desperate situation we once again find ourselves in, you do wonder what if they are capable of clear thought.
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Rustyhelmet added 15:35 - Feb 26 Nick, give it a rest, the whole trying to get everyone to buy tickets theme is boring as f*ck - how many times does it need to be spelt out to you that people have other things to do other than spend their well earn't money on watching our woefully under performing, lack of goal scoring forwards and fundamentally inept leaking goals defence? I appreciate your yet again trying to drum up some support for a game that (if we honest) 99% fans know we 'should' and must win, but, inevitably, we will cock it up with Stephens more than likely involved in the game changing moment. It no longer negativity, its no longer lacking support or faith, its called realism. Just because you don't agree with it, doesn't mean its wrong.

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halftimeorange added 17:18 - Feb 26 If you're not a ST holder what would you rather do with your money - have a few beers down the pub with your mates and watch the almost certainly entertaining Chelsea v Spurs game on BT Sport or come to St Mary's and hope that Saints perform well, and win comfortably or even that a game between two of the poorest sides in the EPL actually put on a show? A lot of Saints fans are punch drunk with apprehension or down right fear and many are tired of seeing ineffectiveness in front of goal. Sure, I'll be there cheering Saints on - or at least politely applauding - but, I can't help thinking the £30+ it costs me for every match could be better spent on something else and I doubt that I currently alone. 3-2 in the reverse fixture still haunts me. Mitrovic was the scourge of our defence that day and could be again.

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saintmark1976 added 17:28 - Feb 26 Full marks for your attempts at rallying the troops Nick.Nobody can doubt your love of the Saints. However I think you may have inadvertently highlighted why there are so many tickets left. It's because there is now a complete disconnect between the club's owners/management and the fans.Your comments should have been publicly made by the Chairman, but as he considers us to be a "small club" and he Is capable only of unintelligible corporate speak I suppose it's best left for you to say.

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mikesaint added 18:49 - Feb 26 There has been lot of discontent amongst Saints supporters since the January transfer window closed without any new players signed. To try relying young unproven players and some of the dross that we have accumulated over the last few seasons is taking a big gamble on Premier League status. On top of that we now have 3 strikers out injured. Obafemi out for the season, Danny Ings who hardly ever finishes a game and Shane Long. A new striker would have raised the fans hopes and the gates. It looks like Dusan Tadic saw the light and got out before we sink.

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ItchenNorth added 22:45 - Feb 26 The team needs our full support. Therefore if you can't give it for 90 minutes, don't bother coming. We'll be better off without you. COYR
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simmo400 added 08:17 - Feb 27 Gabbdidni should still be here for the end of season. He could have snatched a goal at anytime to win a game. Relying on Long, Austin etc is going to cost us bigtime. Ralph may have faith because he has no choice but Saints fans know were in big trouble scoring goals. Avoiding defeat is the goal tonight. The dog fight is between us and Cardiff and we need to match them all the way to the end.

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