A win over Saints will restore faith OPINION
IF ever Town and their supporters were in need of a festive tonic then it’s now, against Southampton.
The loss to Newcastle United on home soil last week - making it four defeats on the trot by a single goal - seems to have genuinely focused attention on Town’s worrying plight in the relegation zone of the Premier League.
Many fans are genuinely concerned that unless Town start to make more of their games at the John Smith’s Stadium and, indeed, pick up more points generally in the near future, then they will be heading back to the Championship.
Others point to the goalscoring problem and a withering injury list and reckon that by the time Town emerge from their match at fifthbottom Cardiff City on January 12, everyone will have a pretty clear idea if David Wagner’s side have any chance of survival.
The January transfer window could, of course, put a different twist on things, with supporters keen to see the goalscoring problem addressed, whether that’s directly up front, from a creative addition in midfield - or maybe both. The season so far has been very frustrating for Town and their fans as performances have been better than the results and table might suggest.
Frustration has been exacerbated by a general feeling that the team have not had much luck and, also, unfairly been on the wrong end of some key refereeing decisions.
The last couple of home defeats, however, have heightened anxiety around the fact Town now need to start finding the net more and putting points on the board to avoid being cut off in the danger zone.
That zone basically includes just seven clubs at the moment, with Brighton being five points clear in 13th.
But Town are already six points adrift of Newcastle in 14th following their defeat to the Toon, so there is serious work to be done.
That work starts tomorrow against the Saints, who are fresh from beating Arsenal under new boss Ralph Hasenhuttl and narrowly out of the bottom three.
It was noticeable how the atmosphere at the John Smith’s dropped off in the closing stages against Newcastle when, even though Wagner’s men were dominating possession and territory, there didn’t appear a conviction from the stands they could actually find an equaliser to wipe out the Salomon Rondon strike. As a result, decent numbers headed for the exits early, having lost hope in the team coming up with a goal. That faith needs to be restored - and the perfect time is now, against Southampton.
So come on Town!