Russell Martin will be desperately trying to concoct a plan for his Southampton side to get a result against Arsenal on Saturday.
A trip to The Emirates to face title-contenders Arsenal is arguably the last thing Southampton need after a dismal display saw them lose 3-1 to Bournemouth on Monday night.
Russell Martin knows that if his players perform anything like they did against Bournemouth then things could get very messy against a ruthless Arsenal side.
Given Southampton have just one point in the Premier League, are yet to keep a clean sheet and have scored just three goals in six games a result seems unlikely and they would perhaps carry far greater threat if they had managed to get one key deal across the line in the summer.
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Southampton could rue not signing Liam Delap in the summer
Centre-forward was a priority position for Martin this summer, especially after Che Adams left following the end of his contract.
Sekou Mara was also sold, with Ben Brereton Diaz and Cameron Archer both signed to provide the firepower to keep Southampton in the Premier League.
However, as yet neither has shown that they are capable of this with both players yet to score a league goal and neither were in the starting XI against Bournemouth last time out as Martin instead decided to play without a recognised striker.
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This is a pretty damning indictment of the lack of faith Martin has in his strikers but it could have been so different had they got a deal for Liam Delap across the line.
Southampton agreed a deal worth up to £20 million with Manchester City to sign Delap in the summer but the striker ultimately decided to sign for Ipswich Town.
Southampton target Delap showing his quality at Ipswich Town
Given a deal was agreed with both clubs, it was up for the player to decide and Martin and the Southampton hierarchy clearly did not do enough to convince the England under-21 international to make the move to the south coast.
That now looks a decision the club could come to regret as, if Ipswich are to stay up, it will be thanks to the goals of the young striker.
Whilst not one of Southampton’s forwards have scored a league goal this season, Delap has scored three in his last four matches.
This included a brace against Champions League Aston Villa on Sunday, where he caught the eye of Mark Schwarzer, who said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Villa struggled with Liam Delap.
“He bullied them all game and his run down the left side when he scored the second goal was excellent.”
A goalscorer can keep a struggling club in the Premier League. Ipswich have one in Delap and the evidence so far would suggest Southampton do not.