About the only ray of hope in this game, is that since Brighton arrived in the Premier League, in 11 League matches and 1 League Cup tie, the home side has never won one of them, the Seagulls will hope to make it unlucky 13 for Saints.

There is little so say about this game that hasn't been said before in this sorry season for Saints, Ruben Selles himself has gone from positive about his and Saints future to negative in announcing that it is the manager's spot or nothing next season, surely even he knows that is an impossible appointment given his record this season.

What changes will he make this weekend ? the truth is who knows and I don't mean that in a good way, when he took on the job initially he looked to work with a small group of players, but as the season progressed he more and more had no solution other than to chop and change the team both in the starting line up, but also with substitutions meaning that at any given time in a game, the side was disjointed and never got any sort of consistency.

I wrote an article earlier in the week suggesting that the Southampton faithful would like to see him using youth in the final two games, I did not expect him to actually put untried youngsters en masse into the starting line up, but it would be good to see the likes of Dominic Ballard on the bench today.

But the truth is that with all the speculation flying around about a new managerial appointment imminent, what motivation does Ruben Selles have, what can he give his team both on the training pitch and dressing room ?

I would suggest very little he knows he is a dead man walking and so do his players, they and he know that some of them and indeed Selles himself won't be at the club next season, what can he say to his players that they will actually care about.

Perhaps he will point to the fans and ask the players to play for them if nothing else, certainly he could put out a side with a core of those who have never given up battling, Lyanco, Lavia, Ward Prowse, Adam Armstrong, Alcatraz, to name but 5, they would at least give us passion and there are a couple of more who would at least try.

I really can't predict what line up Selles will start a game with these days and that is a big factor in why our season has collapsed after a good start to his tenure, I would go as far as to say that as we have nothing to lose, we should perhaps have picked the side from an online poll on the clubs website, lets be honest it could do no worse than Selles of late.

Brighton have it all to play for, they have a great chance of European qualification, they probably won't catch Liverpool in 5th, but they will almost certainly get 6th place if they can beat Saints this afternoon.

But there are 3 clubs behind them within 2 points, although the Seagulls do have games in hand, perhaps the pressure will tell.

So to finish where we started, the best chance we have in this game is that fate takes a hand, that it continues to stick with the rule that the home side never wins in this fixture.

Photo: Action Images

Mattsgrandad added 07:57 - May 21 Please play the players who are interested and staying only. They and the club know who they are. I never want to see the rest in a saints shirt again. Play for pride and the fans please.
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underweststand added 08:38 - May 21 This and the Liverpool game really are matches where the result doesn't matter a t*ss, but is a chance for the likes of Ballard, Doyle & Co, to show up playing in the " man's game ". Seldom will we have a chance to play top-end opponents without fear of a negative result. We will likely to see the largest end of season turnover since Koeman's time, so these lads will have a foot in the door, having been together since they were in the 8 year olds group. Those fans who have watched the u18/ u21 highlights on the Web throughout the season cannot fail to be impressed by some of those performances especially when many lads were playing above their age group on a regular basis.

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felly1 added 08:57 - May 21 This season is over for me..All I'm thinking about is what a Southampton side playing a possession based style of football under Russell Martin is going to look like and fare in the Championship next season.
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Farlow added 09:18 - May 21 To me it just shows the limited ambitions this crowd who own us now have.To appoint a coach who,s main claim to fame is a tenth place finish in the Championship.
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A1079 added 09:30 - May 21 These matches matter not a jot except may be the thought of gaining some opportunity to give players that may be our future next season and beyond a game but what they can achieve in an atmosphere of no real leadership etc the results could be a heavy loss in both. For me Brighton, Fulham and Brentford have been the teams of the season and they and their managers deserve the accolades. It would be easy to give managers of the season to Man City, Newcastle, et al but I would suggest one of the managers of these 3 deserve the real recognition. Brighton seem to be the team we were when we first came up for a couple of seasons except they have managed the loss of key players much better. They have brought in replacements of quality before departure or anticipated what is going to happen and have acted responsibly - the truth, all too often we haven't. One other key aspect is, the management of the club at top level. Since Kat Liebherr dispensed with Cortese and got in to bed with Gao as a partner we have increasingly lost our way culminating in the mess that this season has been.

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SanMarco added 10:31 - May 21 Our first ever match in the top division where we kick off already relegated - well done SR. All this talk of yet another underwhelming managerial appointment is all we have to cheer us up. Thanks SR. Message to all those that go back in history to find the vital moment, usually involving the departure of their hero: We were a going concern when SR took over. It is their catastrophic decisions that sent us down, not departures of yesteryear.

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highfield49 added 10:55 - May 21 As the season is already over there's not much worth posting about the Brighton game. However, as the subject of the next manager has been raised, is there anyone who thinks that Russell Martin's possession football style is inspirational? Most supporters want attacking football not more holding the ball and allowing defenders to regroup whilst we pass it around and then backwards. I'm aware it's only media talk about Martin, and there might be other candidates in the frame, but I was so much hoping for the appointment of a proven personality who could motivate the older and younger players alike. If Russell Martin is the man for the job why wasn't he brought in instead of the hapless Nathan Jones?

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DellBoyWally added 11:44 - May 21 Russell Martin's record doesn't match Nuthin Jones - and with more money! And the last "possession"-type manager the fans didn't want and he was sacked despite European qualification and a cup final. SR are going for "potential" again. Haven't they learned that that alone doesn't work? Look where it's got us!! Graham Potter is proven but I can't see him stepping down. Steve Cooper has shown he can't cut it despite hundreds of millions in player investment. Does Pep fancy a totally new challenge?? We need a manager with experience to put together a team that can gel and play. Not a gaggle of "possibles". Maybe the new staff coming in have more of an idea about that than those who came and went. Today? Who cares?

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JoeEgg added 11:46 - May 21 SR must realise that the appointment of Russell Martin, if indeed made, will immediately alienate at least half the fan base, as Nathan Jones' appointment did. I cannot see it acting as a great encouragement for the players or any possible new signings either. For goodness sake Martin has achieved NOTHING to suggest he can lead a side into the Premier League and keep it there. It would be an enormous risk in my opinionbut I guess we are now talking about the Championship not the Premier League. so let Martin lead us to 10th place in the Championhsip!!

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jeffmoore added 05:26 - Apr 17 About the only ray of hope in this game is that since Brighton has been playing much better, there's a chance they might pull off a surprise win. And speaking of surprises, if you're looking for some excitement of your own, why not visit https://gamblesir.com/slots? With a wide selection of thrilling slot games, it's sure to add some extra excitement to your day!
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