Saint Pete

Indeed. Quite unbelievable that they are slapping themselves on the back for the wonderful transfer business they have done after the terrible season we have had! Bednarek has done OK (can't fault his effort and application) but not sure I'm ready to think he is someone we should be relying on at Prem level. And as for Hoedt

I don't agree that Hughes has made us "far more defensive" than the previous 2 managers. He has certainly set the team up better defensively than Pellegrino in the last few games by using the 3 at the back, but I disagree that our overall approach has been defensive. Under Pellegrino, whatever formation we were playing, caution was drummed into the players so much that many of them appeared to have forgotten the objective of scoring goals altogether! At least a couple of players were quoted as saying or hinting that they were being held back from attacking by MP for fear of conceding. My impression since Hughes has taken over is that he has strived to put us back in a more attacking mindset and focused on trying to score, and that has helped the likes of Tadic, Redmond and Long I think.

Great (and sensible) news if true. Get him signed up as soon as poss after Sunday so he can start working with the club on squad matters.

No thanks. In my opinion, the last few months already provides enough "due diligence" that Hughes can do the job and take us forward from here. Do you really want Les/Ralph to go into weeks/months of farting around pretending we have a chance of getting someone like Tuchel/Emery whilst Hughes buggers off and then we end up with some no mark who wants to park the bus in every game again (but who "fits the club philosophy perfectly?"). I would much rather we get Hughes signed up with no messing about (assuming he wants it) and get straight on with the important job of strengthening the squad after the damage that has been done in previous windows.

"Any half decent manager"? In my opinion this is the kind of complacent, believe our own hype Les Reed thinking that got us into this mess. Mark Hughes is a manager with a much better than average record as a premier league manager. Yes, he messed up in the end at Stoke, but that can happen for many reasons. He clearly tried to change the playing style at Stoke and bring in better quality players, it worked for a while but the recruitment went bad and affected team spirit. At Saints, he has only been here a short while, but it shouldn't be underestimated the task he has faced in reversing the damage that has been done to confidence and spirit here. I think if the last couple of years should have taught the club anything, it's that they should be pretty glad to have a manager with the qualities of Mark Hughes. Sign him up! Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Great to see his emotion after the final whistle today, he has really put heart and soul into these last couple of months. He wouldn't have been first choice for many Saints fans had we not been desparate, but I think the timing is right for him to make a real impression at the club. It's clear for all to say that he has made a great impact with the players, at least those that matter. The club should act quickly to get him signed up, as we shouldn't automatically assume that he won't have potential other offers if we do our usual dithering thing! Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Fantastic to see the emotion from Hughes at the end. Full credit to him, he is known as being dour, but there is no question he and his coaching team have produced 100% more passion from these players than what went before. From the moment he has come in, his common sense and determination to win have shone through, and I would be saying he should get the job even if we had lost today. Having said all that, job is not done yet, I refuse to accept we can't possibly mess it up until it's mathematically done, this is Saints after all! But I trust Hughes & co to get the players down to earth and ready to go again for the last game. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Most impressive thing for me is him coming for crosses and getting good punches to them. That has made a huge difference, especially with defenders who are not dominant in the air, despite their size. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

I think this can be seen as a positive, because I’m never comfortable with us playing tactically thinking that a draw may be enough for us, especially not with our current defence! At least now it should be clear in everyone’s minds that we are going for the win, end of. It’s Swansea who will have more of a dilemma as to how positive they should be. One thing I really do hope is that we learn from yesterday that if we get in front, we need to push again for the second goal. One goal in front going into the last few minutes will always leave yourself open to one individual error or balls up from officials or unlucky deflection (or all 3!) costing you. We don’t have the mental or defensive strength at the moment to see games out in these circumstances so we need to make sure we take advantage of our superiority in games and get more than 1 ahead.

I still can’t believe Bertrand made that error at the end, dreadful from someone of his experience. We can moan all we like about officials but if he had put that in row Z like he should have done, it was game over. Worst possible thing he could do was what he did, even just letting the ball run out of play would have been better! Oh well, we have to move on now and take the positives, which are we still got a point and we are out of bottom 3 in advance of Swansea game. That means it’s clear what we need to do at Swansea, only a win will do, but if we get it we should be safe barring a big swing in goal difference. In some ways, it makes our strategy easier for Tuesday as we have to be positive now rather than going in thinking a draw may be enough. We are probably in a better position now than most of us thought we would be a couple of games ago, so we have to be thankful for that and that it’s still in our power to get out of this. Tuesday night is going to be tough to watch, but I think we have the capability in our squad to pull off a win.

Come on Saints, we can do this! Just hope we don’t sit in too much and let them dominate, as we don’t have obvious pace to hit on the break. Need to try to get full backs and Lemina forward to support Tadic and Austin.

And even if Swansea don't get a result at Bournemouth, they still have Stoke at home on last day so a win for them there would keep them above us even if we beat them. I agree, we definitely need at least a draw at Everton. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

We are still right up against it. Saturday's great win has given us a chance, but that's all it is at this stage. I think the talk that 2 or 3 points could be enough, whilst possible, is dangerous! We need to go into the next 2 games firmly aiming to win both, because somebody else is going to come up with an unexpected win or draw, they always do at the end of the season when desperation takes over. It would not surprise me at all if Huddersfield manage to beat Arsenal at home on the last day, which would give them 38 pts assuming they lose their other 2. Swansea have 3 winnable looking fixtures left, including Stoke at home so you would expect they should get at least 3 pts, bringing them up to at least 36. So I think we need to push for 6 points and if we get 4, it MAY just be enough. Realistically can't see us getting anything from City on last day so we have to get it done in the next 2. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Surprised at that, expected us to return to a back 4 and press them further up the pitch. Oh well, let's hope we see a better performance from the full backs as they are key today. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Well boo ****ing hoo. Some decent performances on the pitch and some effort might help him get more game time? Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Time will tell but I honestly don't see him succeeding elsewhere unless he totally changes his attitude. I just don't see a burning desire to succeed in him, he just wants everything to fall into his lap without putting in the effort. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

If it’s true that Boufal refused to go and warm up in a critical match for the club, he deserves all the stick he is getting and more. He clearly thinks he is more important than the club so I will be very happy if he never appears on the pitch for us again. I think most people can forgive some below par performances from players as long as they are trying and doing their best for the club. Boufal is paid a lot of money, he has some talent, but he has no divine right to be in the starting line up. He should be ready to play whenever the manager calls upon him to do so and keen to prove him wrong for not selecting him. It seems that is not the case, so good riddance to him.

Boufal is another classic example of a player only interested in himself, no team ethic whatsoever. Unfortunately not surprised it has come to this. He clearly has some talent but nowhere near as much as he thinks he does. I expect him to fade away from top level football over the next couple of seasons. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

I would personally return to a back four for this one. We need to dominate and play the game in their half, so need more players in midfield. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Inclined to agree, would have played Austin today. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

However they have won 6 more games than us. Pity our former manager didn't understand 3 points for a win system. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Doomed. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Yep, composure was lacking, defensive quality was very much lacking as well. I'm just unconvinced by the argument that making a sub would have magically resolved everything in our favour. The players and in particular the defence need to be better and mentally stronger in these situations to beat the likes of Chelsea and I don't think Hughes can be expected to resolve that overnight. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

What makes you think bringing on a sub would change anything in this situation? The problem is our poor defenders and we have noone better that we can bring on! The people on the pitch need to do the job at the end of the day. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

It's not "game management" that's the problem in my opinion, it's **** defending, pure and simple. Our defenders are no longer good enough for this league and will crumble and make mistakes when pressured by a quality side. Giroud was clinical in taking advantage of that. When you play the good sides, you have to be able to withstand periods of pressure. People will say we sat back too much, I don't really think that was the case. You need to defend better, end of. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk