HOME TO MAN CITY

Saints' goal difference stands at minus 18, Swansea's at minus 27. Although Swansea could well beat Stoke, they are not scoring many goals and I would surprised if they managed more than 4...... which means Saints stay up unless they lose to Man City by 6 or more.

I am sure Hughes will have his mind on this, and the team's objective on Sunday will be to keep the City score down. City don't really have an incentive to score a hatful...... unless they are Swansea fans.......so I think this will be a boring game and quite possibly end 0-0.

That would rather be history repeating itself....when Saints were first promoted to Division 1 in 1966, it depended on them not letting in 6 to Man City in the last game of the season. Man City's promotion from Division 2 as champions was already assured. Ted Bates set up his side to stop City scoring, and that's what they did, the match finishing goalless.

Like you Mike not expecting or necessarily wanting an entertaining and exciting game, a boring 0-0 will do me, as it is think City will win to get their 100 points but by the odd goal, 2-1. Expect 5 at the back and keep it tight as long as possible so no incentive for Swansea to gain hope.

Tomorrow we learn our fate.

I do wish that the board would give Mark a 3 year contract now before the game. Let the players know that we are not going through the same agony next season

Tomorrow we learn our fate.

I do wish that the board would give Mark a 3 year contract now before the game. Let the players know that we are not going through the same agony next season

Well safety achieved and a decent performance went for the win towards the end and got caught on the break in the last minute which was a bit unfair but like most of this season no luck, as did deserve at least a draw. Not many clear cut chances in the first half but in second, Ward Prwse had a header but couldn't quite get the power on it, and Tadic had the best chance with a long ball he controlled beat the goalie a couple of times, and went for power for once and managed to find the City player on the line. We nearly got caught on a break way a little earlier but offside when in last minute a break saw City in and beat McCarthy with a neat lob. Totally undeserved and must admit I don't really like Guardiola. moans all the time during the game to refs, influences the decisions and has had a huge amount of money at his disposal, yet still failed in CL. Will be interesting to see what happens next year as if Aguero leaves, Kompany a bit older and slower, and other top 6 sides investing money may not find it as easy.

McCarthy 8 unlucky not to keep a clean sheet, had another strong performance, will be our No 1 next season despite any interest form other clubs
Cedric 7 think his l;ast game at St Marys to be honest, did well getting forward but second half they caught us out on the right side, at least 1 RB needed.
Hoedt 7 hit the bar with a header and made a few crunching tackles, has played better under Hughes and think will improve next season
Yohsida 8 really solid in the middle of the back 5, if Bertrand goes then he should be made captain.
Stephens 6 a few mis kicks early on but pretty solid
Bertrand 7 went off towards the end with injury, at least seemed up for the game, maybe his next club? Sure he will be gone in the summer.
Romeau 6 covered a lot of ground, a few mis placed passes but does a lot of work
Hojberg 6 similar to Oriel plenty of effort but gave the ball away a few times, still young though and has definitely improved this season.
Redmond 5 the one disappointment today, showed not really a PL player how he was picked, need to offload but worried will be kept
Tadic 8 unlucky for his attempt on goal, held the ball up well and definitely improved working for Hughes
Austin 6 worked hard but didn't get many chances but willing to battle up front on his own,

Subs

Ward Prowse 6 tried hard to get forward but struggled defensively
Long 6 did his usual workrate we will need to look at signing strikers who can score goals if we don't want a repeat next season
MxQueen 6 came on for Bertrand hard to judge in that short time, got some blocks in.

So how quick will saints resolve the manager issue? Apparently Mr Gao at the game today so maybe a decision imminent. Think it would be a surprise if not Hughes suspect they may offer a 2 year deal that will be enough for Hughes. Think he has earnt the opportunity, would not normally be my first choice but he will add some stability and critically he has seen the players on the squad over the last couple of months so will know where we need to strengthen. Plus Reed has pretty much got the last 2 management appointments wrong so would be odd if they didn't offer to Hughes.

Thanks for another impressive report Matty.

Watched on Sky and I thought a draw would have been fair.....but yet again Saints conceded a late late goal. How many times recently have Saints conceded a goal in the last 5 minutes?? I hope they can work on something to stop that happening next season.

Before the game Sky said the club were to offer a new contract to Hughes next week. Hopefully they meant this week... and this can be resolved quickly.

Thanks Matty for another great report. Mike's correct, hopefully Hughes will get a contract now ... and the funds to get in a few key signings.

They have been talking since the Swansea game so hope to hear soon that Mark is in charge fulltime