THERE is a delicate balance to strike when it comes to informing supporters of what is going on and giving away trade secrets.

Recently, Saints have been completely silent on the injury to Adam Lallana – and understandably many Saints fans are desperate to know what is going on.

The exact reason for the club’s reticence to spill the beans – to any degree – is not clear but you can understand to a point why they may not want to alert upcoming opponents as to whether or not they have to adapt for what Lallana brings.

In this week’s prematch press conference, Adkins would only go as far as to say Lallana was suffering a knee injury – that much everyone already knew after watching the midfielder undergo treatment pitchside.

As with any organisation, there is a certain amount of secrecy required to get things done without competitors getting one over you and Nigel Adkins does have a habit of not answering even the most mundane of questions.

For example, the only time I’ve seen him be anything remotely close to candid was following the 6-1 drubbing against Arsenal. In was nice to actually hear a worthwhile view on the team’s performance rather than one liners about buses, “this football club” and “the Barclays Premier League”.

I’m writing this as a supporter – not a journalist. I want to hear the manager’s thoughts and opinions. We all do.

Perhaps if the club was a bit more forthcoming with information about the little things (for example, I was well aware how much it would cost me to purchase a corporate hospitality seat for the Sunderland match, but nowhere could I find the price for a ticket to the Stoke match) there would be less inclination for some to automatically assume a cover-up when someone like Lallana gets injured, just because the club wants to play its cards close to the chest – or perhaps the player doesn’t want their medical information thrown about all over the place.

It would just be nice for the club to think that some information other than corporate hospitality prices might be useful to fans – and not necessarily harmful to the club.

Fans respect the need for some things to remain confidential – but we want to feel like we are actually part of a club rather than just customers of a business.