Like last season, if Saints stay focused on winning games and keeping up a two points per game average in the final ten games then automatic promotion will be achieved.
The season is now getting into its final stages and the league positions and who is challenging and who isnt is now becoming clearer with each set of games, that makes it very hard to stay focused on just what is needed to be done and of course as the season's finale gets nearer the actual points total for the finish line changes as well.
I stated several months ago just how many wins Saints would need to get in the top two and the figure quoted back in November remains fairly accurate and stands at five to go, if we win five of our last ten games then that would in theory give us a minimum total of 84 points plus any others from the other five games we pick up. I feel that this will be at the final count enough to get us promoted.
Of course as of writing its not an exact science, so to be sure Saints do need to keep averaging two points per game, in our last ten games we have nearly done just that, amassing 19 points along the way and this has been enough to fend off both Reading and West Ham, but only just and that shows how tight it could be, in contrast Reading in that same ten game period have gained 27 points and West Ham the same 19 points we have totalled, so that shows how close a run thing this is going to be.
But as it stands, due to our superior goal difference the other two clubs assuming they win their game in hand have to better our points total in the run in by at least 1.
I still stand by my total wins needed as five, but I also feel that we should set our sights a little higher than fifteeen points needed for promotion and we have to focus on keeping that two point average up, if we do that I dont think that both clubs will be able to match that and this will see us up.
Of course as for any club, we still need our rivals to trip up and we should cheer when they do because that makes our job a little easier, but the key for us is to win the next few games, if we do so then we turn the screw, however with three out of four away we have to be prepared to stay tight and focused on that two point average, knowing that if we do and kep our nerve we wont get pipped at the post.