Former England international Theo Walcott believes Southampton will make the Championship play-offs this season, despite their indifferent start to the campaign.
The Saints began life in England’s second tier in excellent fashion, taking 10 points from the opening 12, but have since won just twice in their last seven fixtures. The loss of form saw them slip down the table and they head into the international break in tenth position.
A run of four successive defeats in September put manager Russell Martin under pressure, although they upset the form book at the end of last month with an impressive win over fellow Championship newbies Leeds United. That was followed with a narrow victory over Stoke City before they mustered a point against strugglers Rotherham United at the weekend.
The former Premier League team had to cope with the loss of several star players over the summer, with Tino Livramento, James Ward-Prowse, Nathan Tella and Romeo Lavia all departing in big-money moves. However, their squad is still a strong one and more than capable of challenging in the upper reaches of the division.
It’s still early doors though, and they sit just one point off the play-off places, although they are already 13 points off early pacesetters Leicester City and 11 behind second-placed Ipswich Town. An end-of-season showdown at Wembley Stadium now appears to be the target, a view mirrored by Walcott, who departed the club at the end of last season. Speaking to the Daily Echo, via Hampshire Live, the recently retired winger said;
“You always expect the teams that go down to come back up, but it’s not straightforward. Anyone can beat anyone. Saints have a young team and a young manager who has good ideas. From what I know the players are really keen on him and are really happy. That’s what you want as a team and as players.
“As soon as you turn it can be sour, but I’m not getting any signs of that. They will be fine. I just think it’s been a lot harder than they expected. When you come to the stadium, you think this is a Premier League club.
“That’s what I see here. I think they will get back in time, but it’s not going to happen overnight. I believe they will be in the play-offs. But it’s just the luck of the draw and we will have to see.”
Southampton face a tough run of fixtures following the international break against three teams all above them in the Championship standings, starting with a trip to Hull City. The south coast team will then travel to Deepdale to face off against Preston North End before hosting Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham City at the end of the month.
Writer’s View
The play-offs now have to be the aim for Russell Martin, with the gap between themselves and those in the automatic promotion places getting ever wider. There is currently just three points separating fourth and 11th and those three fixtures later this month could prove crucial. Seven to nine points from those games would put Southampton right back in the mix.
Russell Martin will also be looking over his shoulder, but they are now unbeaten in three games and will hope that he can continue to grind out results.
Head of Writing
