x

No Room For Error In Southampton Promotion Push

Saints return after the International break and in the final 5 weeks of the season have no leeway, they have to win most of their games, especially the trips to the three clubs who start the run in ahead of them.

A quick glance at the Championship table is not good reading, at least not at the moment, but the gap can be shortened if we win our games in hand, although the first of those is not until 9th April when we entertain Coventry City at St Mary's.

But before then we have 3 tough games, on Good Friday we see Middlesbrough come to the South Coast, they have hit a run of form and have won 3 and drawn 1 of their last 4 games, this still leaves them 7 points off the final play off spot and they too cannot afford anything less than a win when they visit us.

Then it is the first of the 3 big games, we travel to Portman Road and take on Ipswich, after stuttering back in January they too have hit a run of good form, but in truth we are not far behind them over the last 5 games, so if we beat Boro we should go there without fear.

After that comes the first of those games in hand, Coventry themselves harbour promotion hopes of their own and start this weekend just 4 points off the play offs, but they will arrive at St Mary's hopefully with a win under their belt from beating Leeds a few days earlier, but also hopefully with one eye on Wembley and their FA cup semi final against Manchester United only 12 days later.

Now the games are coming thick and fast, Saturday & Tuesday up to the final week of the season, Watford at home on the Saturday, Preston at home on the Tuesday, Cardiff on the Saturday, then another big one Leicester away on the Tuesday and Stoke at home on the Saturday followed by the first week's rest in 5 weeks ahead of the trip to Leeds United.

As the headline said, there is no room for error, we just have to try to close up the gap and hope that those above us lose a game or two.

But our destiny is in our own hands, if Leeds who are currently top of the league win all their games up to the final one, they end on 103 points, if we win our final 10 culminating in a win at Elland Road we end up on 103 points, it has to be said though we need to a few big victories to close the goal difference gap, likewise Leicester can only reach 109 points, so we would need to beat them and hope they slip up and Ipswich can only reach 105.

So we are now into the make or break part of the season, we have little room for error, some would say no room for error, but we do have a big squad and with our rivals playing only slightly less games, this could be crucial.

Whatever happens in the next 5 weeks, we should be in the play offs, as it stands Hull & Coventry sit on 58 & 57 points respectively from 37 games, both just outside the play offs, they can only get 85 & 84 points apiece, although as they still have to play each other that isn't strictly true.

That being the case we could actually virtually guarantee a play off place if we win our next two games and they both lose theirs over the Easter weekend, given our goal difference is so superior and would indeed have widened with those results.

So we have to go into the final five weeks ready for battle, we will have the likes of Kyle Walker-Peters back from injury and hopefully Ryan Fraser at some point, we have the firepower going forward, we just have to shore things up at the back, play our best team in every game and make the right substitutions when needed.

It's been a roller coaster season lets hope that come the end of it we will have achieved our goals.

What to read next:

Queens Park Rangers 0 - 0 Sunderland - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Leeds United 0 - 0 Sunderland - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Sunderland 0 - 0 Queens Park Rangers - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Southampton 4 - 2 Sunderland - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Sunderland 1 - 2 Swansea City - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Sunderland 1 - 0 Leeds United - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Swansea City 0 - 0 Sunderland - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Queens Park Rangers 1 - 3 Sunderland - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Sunderland 5 - 0 Southampton - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Queens Park Rangers 0 - 3 Sunderland - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.