Southampton are currently fourth in the Championship with three games left to play.
Next up is a trip to league leaders Leicester City in a game that has lost some of its edge due to Southampton‘s failure to beat Cardiff City on Saturday.
Russell Martin‘s side lost that game despite having numerous chances and taking the lead through a 12th-minute Joe Aribo strike, continuing his impressive individual run of form.
The Saints were pegged back in the second-half, though, with Cardiff equalising in the 68th-minute before a 96th-minute Cian Ashworth strike secured a 2-1 win for the Bluebirds.
As ifs the defeat wasn’t painful enough, Southampton also saw Stuart Armstrong stretchered off late on in what it has since emerged is a season-ending injury.
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Now, Southampton look set for the play-offs, but they could keep their slim automatic promotion chances alive with a win at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night.
Jim White thinks Southampton have ‘blown’ automatic promotion
One man who thinks Southampton’s automatic promotion chances went with defeat to Cardiff is TalkSPORT host Jim White.
White was discussing the Championship promotion race on his Tuesday morning radio show with ex-Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan.
Jordan spoke of the ‘fascinating’ race for a top two finish between Leicester, Leeds United and Ipswich Town, but did not dismiss Southampton completely.
At 10:12, Jordan said: “I don’t rule Southampton out of it, but I think they made it remarkably difficult for themselves.”
Southampton will want momentum on their side as they approach the play-offs should that be where they end up, and Jordan advised them:
“Now, I think while he won’t focus on the fact it’s playoffs for him, he needs to keep his mentality together, Russell Martin, and those of his players because if they go into the playoffs, they wouldn’t want to go on the back of the feeling they choked on the way in.”
Jordan’s co-host, White, was far more damning of Southampton’s chances, as he commented: “I have got to say I think they have blown it. I think they have, in terms of automatic promotion, they have.”
Should Southampton now focus on play-offs?
After three consecutive games without a win following the March international break, including a loss to Ipswich, Southampton’s automatic promotion hopes seemed over.
However, the Saints followed that run up with three straight wins.
This, coupled with the sides above them stumbling, opened the door for the St Mary’s club again but defeat on Saturday was crushing.
The fact that Martin’s side are not completely out of the race with three games to go, and trips to Leicester and Leeds still to come, means the Southampton manager cannot be seen to give up on a top two finish.
That being said, he may be wise to try and rotate his side slightly across the last three games of the regular Championship season with an eye on the play-offs.
With the likes of Flynn Downes and Ryan Manning recently picking up knocks, Martin has hinted that this is the approach he will take, with realism replacing optimism.