SAINTS 0 - CHELSEA 1

That was the question Saints fans were asking themselves on Saturday.

It seems strange on reflection that on paper probably the most exciting St Mary's fixture of the season had hardly even been considered by most Saints fans this week.

Their attention has understandably been drawn to the future of their manager and whether Gordon Strachan will remain in charge or head off to Leeds.

What with that and the glorious sight of England lifting the Webb Ellis Trophy only a few hours before kick-off, the game seemed secondary.

All the questions surrounding Strachan's future remain unanswered.

The man himself refuses to comment, while Rupert Lowe insists there has been no official approach and compared the situation to a section of the Bible in his programme notes.

As long as that continues, then nobody will be sure.

But all the talk of 'concentrate on matters on the pitch' was certainly taken seriously by the players and management, who are still in place at the moment.

All of the uncertainty, and also the early morning celebrations, led to St Mary's being surprisingly subdued for most of the afternoon.

After a few initial chants aimed at Leeds and cheering for Strachan, there was not the barrage of support that many had predicted.

Perhaps the fans feel the silence is deafening. It may not be the case but as long as it remains so, they find it hard to accept there is no smoke without fire.

Strachan's team selection for this match was refreshingly different.

Of course there was the big miss of James Beattie having to watch from the stands after picking up a calf injury, while on international duty.

They certainly missed his presence and initially struggled to adapt to having two small guys in attack. Crosses and high balls didn't work.

Jason Dodd was also injured and so Paul Telfer took over at right-back and looked assured. It will be hard to leave him out of that spot in future.

Danny Higginbotham deputised very competently for the suspended Michael Svensson, while there was a re-think in midfield.

Out went Anders Svensson, and Neil McCann wasn't around either.

Instead there was a central pairing of Chris Marsden and Rory Delap.

It worked well with those two keeping the shackles on opposite numbers Claude Makelele and Frank Lampard, thus restricting the balls out to Chelsea's dangerous wide players.

That really stifled the visitors' attacking intent for most of the match.

But while it may have been perspiration over inspiration in the centre for Saints, there was the great sight of two genuine creative talents on the wings in the shape of Fabrice Fernandes and Leandre Griffit.

It was a very positive step in the right direction to addressing the problem of no goals in three games.

As was a rare triple substitution on 70 minutes, which included a surprise return for Agustin Delgado and another 'knocking on the door' display from David Prutton.

There wasn't too much to talk about at half-time as Saints strangled the game in the middle.

Kevin Phillips hit the side netting, Brett Ormerod headed over and Griffit's deflected shot spun just wide.

Chelsea, meanwhile, didn't come any closer and had appeals for a penalty turned down when Joe Cole claimed he was pushed over by Claus Lundekvam.

But the second half got off to the worst possible start for Saints when a slick passing move saw Lampard find Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. He found Mario Melchiot who slotted in a low shot across Niemi.

Hasselbaink missed a sitter minutes later and Higginbotham hacked Graeme Le Saux's cross interception off the line before Saints almost grabbed a late equaliser.

Fernandes whipped in a peach of a cross on to the head of Phillips. You would have put your house on him scoring from such close range, but he went across goal and across the far post.

Fernandes almost did the business himself right at the death, but his brilliant shot grazed the top of the crossbar.

Chelsea clung on for the victory, England had won the World Cup but Saints fans still fear a losing fight to keep their manager.