We are approaching the business end of the Championship season, with four clubs competing for two automatic promotion spots.
Leicester City sit top of the table on 81 points, with Ipswich Town currently residing in second on 78 points. Below them in third are Leeds United on 76 points and Southampton are in fourth on 70 points – the Saints with a game in hand on their rivals due to the Preston game being postponed on Wednesday night.
Given their shaky recent form, it would be difficult to argue that Southampton currently look the least likely of the four to secure a top two spot despite the extra game, however Russell Martin does still have to take his side to all three of the sides above them in the league.
Whether this is a positive thing or not is up for debate. On one hand it means that, in theory, Southampton have the three most difficult games of their season in the run-in, but on the other hand it means they have a chance to take valuable points off all three sides they are battling with.
There are sure to be many twists and turns between now and the end of the conventional season on 4th May and Harry Redknapp has now had his say on who he thinks will finish the in the top two in the Championship.
Harry Redknapp predicts Southampton’s Championship fate
Redknapp is not the most popular figure in Southampton given his association with fierce rivals Portsmouth and the fact he oversaw the Saints’ relegation from the Premier League in the 2004/05 season – a spell sandwiched between two stints in charge of Portsmouth.
Speaking to sports betting site Bet Victor, Redknapp did little to help his reputation amongst Southampton fans as he said: “Russell Martin has done a great job at Southampton this season since he came in last summer.
“He’s got them playing some good football and they play really well. They’ve got a good squad there, a fantastic group of players, but I just think they’ll end up finishing third in the Championship this season unfortunately”.
The 77-year-old did add that he expected Southampton to get promoted until their recent run, as he went on to say: “I thought Southampton would have pipped their rivals to second spot in the Championship up until their recent results.
“Losing those two games at home a few weeks ago to Hull City and Millwall were absolute shocks in all honesty. No disrespect to Millwall but up until recently they couldn’t win a game.
“They change their manager, Neil Harris comes in, and in his first game they go to Southampton and win – and a few days before that Southampton get beaten by Hull at home too.
“When you look at those games, really there’s six points there that Southampton have missed out on which could prove costly. Ipswich have had a miracle, they’ve done fantastic.
“They’re a great club and the manager Kieran McKenna has done amazing, but I do still think they’ll just miss out alongside Southampton. I think Leeds will go up with Leicester automatically”.
On balance, Redknapp’s assessment of the current situation at Southampton is fair, but Martin’s side have the chance to proving their ex-manager wrong this season starting with a home game against Sunderland on Saturday.
That is assuming the game goes ahead, with the after-effects of the fire that caused the Preston fixture to be rearranged not yet clear.