With the distateful treatment of Nigel Adkins over the last few days it will be easy for Saints supporters to lose focus on what they actually want for the club when they go to St Mary's for the Everton game.
To start off I like many others am thouroughly apalled that Nigel Adkins should be removed at a time when it looked like he was about to turn the season around, after the draw at Chelsea it had left us with probably four wins and four draws needed from our remaining 16 league games to give us 38 points which I felt would be the safety cut off point, an entirely achievable target, indeed after the Chelsea game, that coming so soon after a hard won victory at Villa there was a feel good feeling around the supporter base that looked set to carry us through the next month or so, where it was quite possible that with some winnable games in the next six weeks we could rattle off three of those wins.
But suddenly there is an air of uncertainty amongst the supporters and that could in itself put such a heavy burden on the team on Monday night it could drag us down and cost us vital points.
Most of the national press last week commented on the atmosphere that surrounded Chelsea's home games and questioned whether any team, let alone one as talented as Chelsea's could win in such a vitriolic atmosphere, they pointed to some great Chelsea results recently on the road and compared it to those at Stamford Bridge and came to that conclusion, sadly for us we are about to create just that same atmosphe on Monday night at St Mary's
But as a Saints supporter I want my team to stay up, I dont want it at any cost and preferably I want it with my club renowned for its ethics and morals, I want it to be known for the very things it on one hand trumpets ie a united family, but as we have seen doesnt exist, but in the short term I want three points against Everton.
Back in 1993 when we protested against Ian Branfoot, it had all the potential and did on occasions create a negative atmosphere, but on many occasions it did too spur the team on, the general rule there was protest all you want up to kick off, but once the teams lined up it was 100% backing on the pitch, effectively we differenciated between the team and the manager and felt that we could back one whilst demanding the removal of the other, it created many positive vibes that saw some great victories amidst some vigarous protesting, Newcastle being beaten 2-1 with two superb Le Tissier strikes was one in particular where if we could have written the script we would have done.
Now if we truly want to make sure that Nigel Adkins legacy isnt wiped out in the next three months we need to recapture that spirit, on Monday night we do of course come to St Mary's to show our support for Nigel, but we are also there to get three points, let the protests and outrage against his sacking cease the moment the teams kick off, lets help the team show their support for their manager and get those three points and then we can hold our heads up on live TV to the nation and show that the Spirit Of Southampton which has existed long before some of our supporters were even born is still alive and well on the terraces if not elsewhere.
Lets win this game on Monday for Nigel, lets also remember that Mauricio Pochettino on Monday truly only has one fault and that is that he is not Nigel Adkins