Well…here we are. After eight months of constant drama - and even more constant pain for Saints fans - we’ve finally reached the end. Ten games left to play, ten games to save the club’s Premier League status.
The negatives are obvious for a team who has remained in the relegation zone since before November’s World Cup and now onto their third permanent manager of the season, Saints are the inescapable favourites for the drop.
The positives - or at least one major positive - is that it isn’t over just yet. With only two points separating Saints from safety and some improved performances under Ruben Selles, there is enough reason to believe that escape is still possible.
READ MORE: Have Saints finally figured out how to attack?
But to get there, Saints will have to continue to improve. Eight points under Selles’s tutelage has put them in a position to fight but it will take even more to go one further and turn a chance into salvation and with injuries potentially starting to mount, it will take others to step up and help Saints get there.
Ahead of the first of ten finals tomorrow against West Ham, we’ve picked out a selection of Saints who could prove decisive to the run-in, for good or for bad…
Lyanco and/or Duje Caleta-Car
The reality is that Selles and Saints may well be pushed into a position they have clearly aimed to avoid. That is relying on either Lyacno or Caleta-Car at the heart of their newly solidified defence.
Since Selles took over following Nathan Jones’s sacking in February, the two defenders have virtually disappeared from the first team set up.
Caleta-Car has failed to make six of Saints’ last eight Premier League squads, going back to the second-to-last game of the Jones era. The Croatian last played a minute of league action against Aston Villa in January.
He did get a rare start in Saints’ humiliating FA Cup exit to Grimsby Town but that did little to elevate his stock as he scored his side’s goal but also conceded a critical penalty.
Meanwhile, Lyanco hasn’t fared much better, not even making the bench in Saints’ last five league matches while also playing all 90 minutes of Saints’ memorable Grimsby defeat.
Now though, one or both of the forgotten duo may be called up as the season reaches its climax. Selles has largely leaned on Armel Bella-Kotchap and Jan Bednarek in his brief reign so far but the former will miss Sunday’s trip to West Ham after re-injuring his previously dislocated shoulder in Saints’ 3-3 draw with Spurs.
Mohammed Salisu would likely be the first deputy called on from the bench in the event of injury but the Ghanaian is struggling with ailments of his own and faces a late fitness test to determine his availability for the relegation six-pointer at the London Stadium.
Should Salisu miss time as well then Selles would be stuck choosing between Caleta-Car, Lyanco, or the wildcard option of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, alongside Bednarek.
Whoever comes into the side will be doing so in the most pressured moment possible and they will have to stand up to that pressure - their team desperately needs it.
Speaking on Friday afternoon, the Saints boss insisted that he trusts his back-up defensive options, telling the Daily Echo: “Yes, absolutely. One of the things that has happened is that I have had a lot of players and I need to decide who to play, but it’s not because the other ones have a lack of quality.
The 39-year-old added: “If Duje or Lyanco has to play in the centre-back position, I trust them and they are capable to do it as they have done before.”
Charly Alcaraz
In truth, Alcaraz’s name is likely the least surprising on this list. Despite only joining Saints in mid-January, it’s evident to all who have watched the midfielder that he has unique quality.
Still just 20-years-old, Alcaraz has been chosen to start in only four of the ten Premier League games since his arrival but that in itself is not a fair reflection of what he can offer this team.
A combination of changes to the formation leading to opportunities for just two central midfielders as well as a few nagging injuries has limited Alcaraz’s starts but he is certain to play a major role through the rest of the campaign - whether that’s from the start or the bench.
Thus far Alcaraz has notched two league goals for Saints, a total that already puts him joint-third in his new team’s goalscoring charts. While that in itself is more a reflection of Saints’ toothlessness in attack than anything else, Alcaraz’s goalscoring output is no fluke.
A real driving force from midfield, Alcaraz offers Saints an element that they have no real clear replacement for. It changes the way Saints play and makes them more of a threat going forward with a reliable and frequent outlet to go to.
But the Argentine is also far from the full package. Playing with an element of ill-discipline, Alcaraz can at times lose his positioning and in turn negatively affect the organisation and shape of the entire Saints midfield.
That is something that happened in the damaging first half of Saints’ League Cup second leg at St James’ Park when Alcaraz and the midfield was pulled apart as their team was ripped to shreds for a brutal 20-minute spell.
Still though, the positives with Alcaraz outweigh the negatives, and for a team that struggles to create and score goals, he can be a real difference-maker. Saints may well need that difference-maker down the stretch.
Stuart Armstrong
It’s been a tough season for fan-favourite Stuart Armstrong. Largely a regular presence in previous years under Ralph Hasenhuttl, Armstrong has struggled to get into any sort of rhythm this time around.
Problems with injuries and fitness have limited his opportunities, but frequently he just hasn’t been selected, even when fit. The 31-year-old has started only tent imes this season including a run of one start in eight under Jones.
But things have improved for Armstrong since Selles replaced the former Luton boss. A switch to a variation of Hasenhuttl’s 4-2-2-2 has certainly aided the Scotsman’s chances and he’s now five of six league matches under Selles, starting three of those.
And despite scoring only once this season and providing zero assists so far, Armstrong can and has a track record of being a creative hub for this season.
A recent study - looking at the expected assists and chances created numbers per 90 minutes for players in the Premier League - even found Armstrong to be the most creative member of this Saints squad and the 11th-most creative player in the entire Premier League.
While that study certainly has its limitations - and you can read more about it here - the over-arching point is hard to disagree with. At his best, the risk-taking creativity Armstrong possesses can make a real difference to his team. Now given more opportunities with Selles at the helm, Armstrong will have the chance to prove just that. His team will be praying he does.
Sekou Mara
This was supposed to be a season of learning for Sekou Mara rather than a season of pressure. But life moves in mysterious ways and as Saints’ survival fate comes down to the final two months of the campaign, they could end up relying on the 19-year-old striker.
Signed in the summer from Bordeaux in part due to the opportunistic nature of the deal with his former club desperate for funds, Mara was brought in for the future. At the time, manager Ralph Hasenhuttl expected another striker to come through the door before the end of the summer window but when that didn’t happen, Mara was naturally elevated to a more critical role than initially expected.
A brilliant assist on his debut against Leeds flashed his potential but first team chances have been inconsistent. And when Saints spent heavily on deadline day to acquire Paul Onuachu from Genk, the natural assumption was that Mara’s season was just about finished.
But since then, something strange has happened. Mara has seemingly leap-frogged the January signing to become Selles’s deputy to Che Adams. Since late February’s defeat at Elland Road, Mara has racked up a total of 61 minutes compared to 29 for Onuachu.
Neither has started in that run of four games, but the Saints boss may now be forced into a decision. Adams was forced to withdraw from Scotland’s squad due a calf issue and faces a late fitness test to determine his status for Sunday’s trip to West Ham.
If he misses the game, or if the calf problem lingers, then Selles will need one of his other two strikers to step up. While most would have expected that duty to fall on the far more experienced and expensive Onuachu, it appears Selles may go with Mara.
It’s significant responsibility on the shoulders of a young man who has made just three Premier League starts in his fledgling career but Saints will need him to meet that responsibility head-on. He could have a chance to be the hero and Saints can’t afford for him to let that opportunity slip.
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