Southampton must finally become the ruthless side that fans have been crying out to see for years under Sport Republic on Tuesday night.
Not many clubs in the footballing world will wish to see the Saints progress, after the Spygate scandal, which has seen Southampton charged by the EFL for breaking two regulations.
But Tonda Eckert’s side must grab the occasion by the scruff of the neck and progress to the play-off final at Wembley, no matter what punishment lies in store for them.
Saints must make the most of the occasion
If Southampton come out of the traps on Tuesday night as they did at the Riverside on Saturday, they stand almost no chance of progressing.
In the first 45 minutes of the first leg, they conceded 17 shots and an xG of 1.39, being absolutely pulverised by Kim Hellberg’s side. It appeared as a reaction to the spying accusation from the home side, who greeted the Saints with chants of “you know what you are, you cheating b*stards, you know what you are”.
On Tuesday, it will be Southampton’s turn to apply all the pressure on their opposition. The Saints have a players’ welcome planned, where fans are encouraged to turn up in their numbers in red and white to create an atmosphere as good as the one at the 2023/24 play-off second leg against West Bromwich Albion.
Every little helps, but the Southampton players must play their part in becoming ruthless – Sport Republic’s era at the club so far has only been defined by rolling over against opposition.
While the club may be in the morally wrong position, the players must use the situation to harness brilliant performance, rather than feeling sorry for their opposite number.
Two performances from the Premier League
The damning reality is that Southampton are just two more ninety-minute periods of dominance away from a place in the Premier League.
Whether they return with a heavy fine to their name or even with a points deduction, the Saints must do whatever it takes to get there. If they can equal their club record 22-game unbeaten run in the league set by Russell Martin’s side of 2023/24, that will be enough to do so.
A win will see Tonda Eckert’s side as undeserving and unsporting from the outside looking in, but Southampton fans won’t care if they’re in the Premier League next season.
Under Sport Republic, they have been inconsequential pushovers – Tuesday night could be the start of a new era for Southampton Football Club.
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