LEGITIMATE questions have been asked of just how much Saints' players want Steve Wigley to stay as boss. Now we know the answer.

Over the past couple of months, player after player has been keen to explain that Wigley is a great coach and therefore fantastic to have in charge.

He has lifted everybody and has the total respect and backing of the players, or so we've been told.

The performance against Watford on Tuesday suggested otherwise.

But when Wigley needed it most, when the players must have known that anything other than a win might have got their head coach the sack, they produced for him.

For totally opposite reasons than Tuesday, it was not just the result but the manner of the performance that spoke volumes.

Saints didn't outplay Pompey for huge spells.

They weren't clearly the better footballing side throughout.

But they wanted it SO badly.

They wanted it for themselves, for the fans - but also for Wigley.

Defeat against Portsmouth was unthinkable for the man at the top.

Now, hopefully, the pressure will ease slightly and Wigley can have more time and freedom.

The guy must have something about him for the players to rate him so highly.

Like Paul Sturrock before him, he's had his hands tied somewhat by the amount of injuries he's had to key players.

Now, though, they are nearly all back and it is from now we should give Wigley the chance to be judged.

Saints should start an upward trend to their season - particularly with Norwich and Crystal Palace still to face this month.

And if they do, everybody connected with the club will surely be delighted that such a decent man has succeeded when some called for his head after such a short space of time.

Of course, if he fails to deliver the results then he himself will hold his hands up and accept the inevitable.

But for Wigley to be judged after such a short space of time is, frankly, a joke.

That's not a slight at any fans who did judge him either - it's more of an indictment of the culture at the club.

Where else would you get people seriously discussing the possibililty of a third manager of the season before the end of November?

Where else would you wonder if there could be a fourth manager in nine months?

Stability is one of a football chairman's greatest weapons - they just have to choose to use it.

Saints need stability right now and if the club can get that through Wigley then it's fantastic news all round.

But he must have time with his near full squad of players to pull it all together. He must.

Perhaps a derby match was the best game Saints could have had after Tuesday.

A chance to feel their backs were up against the wall and to be under pressure to put in a dogged performance.

It looked like it might go badly wrong after 12 minutes, though. On-loan keeper Kasey Keller had been rushed into the team and there was a communication breakdown.

He came charging out for a high ball which Andreas Jakobsson won in the air ahead of Lomama LuaLua but could only direct it past his stranded keeper and into his own net.

Jakobsson then had to go off injured, which meant Jason Dodd coming on at right-back and Darren Kenton switching to the centre of defence and they looked very solid.

The presence of James Beattie, Dodd and Graeme Le Saux seemed to lift the team.

And it was Saints that got the next, vital goal.

On 18 minutes Beattie missed the ball from a great position in the area, it deflected off his arm and squirmed out to the outstanding Dexter Blackstock, who fired into the bottom corner.

It was Saints who continued to be the stronger side, keeping the ball in the midfield rather than Pompey who increasingly hit long balls in the absence of talisman Yakubu who limped off after 36 minutes.

Claus Lundekvam and Dejan Stefanovic both missed free headers for either side before Patrik Berger came even closer with a rasping 20-yard drive that smacked the bar.

But when Wigley brought on Kevin Phillips for Beattie with 21 minutes left, it proved decisive.

Phillips was immediately fouled and, from Dodd's free-kick, was left unmarked to head the winner.

Arjan De Zeeuw missed a headed chance and Keller pulled off a fine save from Matthew Taylor but Saints didn't have to brave quite as fierce an onslaught as they probably expected.

In this most vital of games, they showed the heart, spirit and determination that told the fans and the club to stick with Wigley.

He deserves a fair chance.