Many hoped that the trip to Pompey would be the game that got Che Adams on the goal trail, but it showed that the strain of not scoring so far is weighing heavily on his shoulders.
Most Saints fans I have spoken to have been impressed by some of the work Che Adams has done, at Sheffield United his goal drought was almost broken but thwarted by the post and a world class save by the keeper and that has left the player with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
So far Ralph Hasenhuttl has adopted the Dolly Parton approach to management and has stood by his man, but it is becoming clear that tactic has not worked.
Saints fans have not got on Adams's back, they can see that he is putting the effort in and that he has something about him and are sticking with him but that could change, we don't want that and a different approach is needed to remedy the situation and that is giving Che a rest.
You feel that once he gets a goal then his confidence will rise and they will flow, but getting that goal is proving hard, droughts like this are often ended not by the spectacular, but by the flukiest goals seen.
So Ralph needs to take the pressure off him and take him out of the firing line, let others take the responsibility in the starting line up and bring him on as a sub when the pressure is off.
At Spurs it will be a tough game, if he runs around for 90 minutes and doesn't score then it will help no one least of all him, but coming off the bench is a different matter, at best he could score a vital goal and be a hero, at worst it might just be a consolation but he will have broken his duck.
So on Saturday I think Che would be better starting on the bench, watching the action to start with will make him hungry to get on hungry to get a goal and re invigorate him with the enthusiasm he had in earlier games but has been missing a little in the last two especially at Fratton Park.