Last weeks result against Portsmouth was a disappointment but there were mitigating circumstances, but now the time for excuses is over and Will Still has to guide his men to victory at Hull and then keep going.

There has been plenty of turmoil in the Southampton camp during August as players left and others came in, in truth against Pompey we were too much a new team playing a new formation and little time to gel, but now with an extra week and a trip to Hull and not a local derby against Portsmouth, the pressure is off.

At least for the meantime anyway, the season so far hasn't been bad, but it hasn't been good either, it has been bang average, but there is still plenty of time to go in the season and we need to kick start it now.

I don't expect Will Still to change much from the starting line up last Sunday, I think he will keep the 4-2-2-1-1, we looked better defensively, we just failed to break down a Pompey side sat back and looking for a point.

There may be a subtle change or two though in personnel, playing with wingers perhaps doesn't suit Cameron Archer up front, he needs to play alongside a bigger striker, but that means sacrificing a central midfield player and that should not be Finn Azaz or Shea Charles, so perhaps here the choice for Will Still is change Archer for Adam Armstrong or even Damion Downs, or does he sacrifice Flynn Downes and go two up top. with Archer playing off a strike partner.

However the choice may be made for him with Downes missing training sessions this week due to his continuing illness issues and Archer has had a hamstring issue, he is expected to be fit but may have to settle for a place on the bench.

Other than this the only other changes I can see are that perhaps Ryan Manning will be dropped for Elias Jelert.

But the main thing is that now he knows what his squad is going to be, Will Still has to get it playing and more importantly winning games.

With 5 of the next 7 League games away from home, this could actually be an advantage, the team can play without fear and the weight of 30,000 Saints fans in St Mary's and this could be an advantage, the team won't be under pressure to get the ball forward and score, they can build up their confidence on the road and go on the counter.

With just that one win on the opening day, we now need to start showing that we have the best squad in the division and get points on the table.

Will Still has said this is a marathon and not a sprint and i agree with him, but the fact is in a marathon, the man who wins it is usually up there in the leading pack for most of the race and Saints need to start climbing the table and to do that we need wins on the board .
But this is now truly the start of the Will Still era, it is too early to judge him just yet after just 5 games, there have been some very encouraging signs and also so worrying ones, but with new men on board, hopefully we have solved the problems that we had in these opening games due to a lack of players out wide.

So hopefully this will be a win and the start of some positive vibes for the next month and indeed the rest of the season.

All Photos Via Reuters

PJK1972 added 12:46 - Sep 19 Flynn Downes needs to get himself right. He's not the same player as he was 2 seasons ago in this league. I'd rest him, get him fit and them play him in the 2nd team with maybe some sub appearances once he's back up to that level. No point in playing players out of form and struggling for fitness. Personally I agree that we could drop one of CDM's and put 2 up front. 1 Striker to hold the ball and the other to run off them. 4-1-3-2 all the way for me. We have lacked potency this season and that formation will allow for a more dynamic attack.

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Monksway added 13:18 - Sep 19 Still has admitted that none of the strikers are particularly strong holding the ball up with their back to goal. In his press conference he talked about more incisive passing through midfield and better positions for crosses into the box that strikers and midfielders can run into. With Downes ill, it looks like Casper will partner Shea Charles which could be positive. I've a feeling Armstrong will replace Archer from the start given his work rate against the ball.

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saintmark1976 added 14:40 - Sep 19 Interesting to see your thoughts in this preview Nick. I sense that like a lot of us your loyalty to S F C and by association Sports Republic is starting to wear a little thin. The facts are that Hull are a poor team that escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth last time around. Relatively they have spent shirt buttons compared to our window spend of £50 million. If we are going to get anywhere near promotion this season they are a team that needs to be despatch easily with all three points coming South by 17.00 tomorrow. Frankly, I’m totally disinterested in what formation is played or for that matter which players are used. We have a better squad than Hull ( even without a proper Centre Forward ) and nothing short of a win will be acceptable. Put simply the time for after match excuses is over. Mr Still and the players must now collectively step up to the plate and get the job done in line with the massive salaries they are paid to do so.

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Bowlercow added 17:47 - Sep 19 If we can get a win in either of our next two fixtures the we will get to the eight match stage with at least the same number of points as the last time we were here. What we then need is another 23 match unbeaten run
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