WHAT Steve Wigley needs now is to prove he is more than just a coach. He needs to prove he's a manager.

Despite having the title of head coach, Wigley is the manager.

When things go badly at a football club, the team don't just need expert coaching. They need expert managing.

That is what makes great managers great and now there is a chance for Wigley to try and prove he has those qualities.

Saints' players don't seem to believe in themselves.

They contained Manchester United well in the first half on Saturday but then conceded one goal and looked like scarecrows with the stuffing knocked out of them.

There was no belief that they could get back into the game.

It was more a matter of how many they would lose by than IF they would lose.

It's hard to blame the players for that.

The whole club has a slight sinking feeling around it.

The vast majority of people are desperate for Saints to do well and are trying to remain positive.

But the fragile confidence of the players is a massive problem.

And that is Wigley's job to change.

How he goes about doing that is up to him but he needs to instill a belief, a togetherness into the team.

They can't be allowed to drift along thinking it will be alright later in the season because it is slipping away from them NOW.

The pack of clubs in and around the relegation zone is thinning out and Saints are already ooking at needing two wins to lift themselves out of trouble.

It's NOW time for the team to get those wins and get out of trouble before the need for two victories becomes three and three becomes four.

Wigley was disappointed with his team after this latest defeat at Old Trafford.

Nobody expected Saints to win but to come away having lost without a single shot on target shows they didn't have a great deal of ambition.

Wigley made a few changes and the players that came in did well enough.

In the first half, Saints defended deep with a bank of four defenders on the edge of their own area and four midfielders ten yards in front providing protection.

It made life difficult for United, who were not able to get players running down the wings and whipping crosses into the box from dangerous areas.

It was also difficult to pass through the Saints rearguard and, with the exception of a five-minute bombardment just before half- time, Saints kept them at bay to go in still 0-0.

What Saints needed to improve after the break was their ball retention. Sadly that didn't happen and, as soon as United took the lead, the game was effectively over as Saints didn't look like scoring.

It was seven minutes after the re-start that the scoring opened and it was from a battle in the six-yard box.

Saints had opportunities to clear but didn't and paid the price when Rio Ferdinand hooked in a cross that Paul Scholes headed home from close range.

You could almost see the belief drain out of Saints and their rigid formation and dogged resistance was totally blown apart.

Just six minutes later, it was 2-0 with a brilliant United move.

Gabriel Heinze found the inspirational Ryan Giggs, who played in Wayne Rooney, and he made no mistake in blasting past Kasey Keller.

From then on, it was all United. Keller saved well from Cristiano Ronaldo and Scholes, Giggs' shot hit Andreas Jakobsson and cannoned off the bar and Ronaldo missed a good chance.

But, with three minutes left, Ronaldo made it 3-0 with a well-struck volley from inside the area that left Keller with no chance.

In all that time, the nearest Saints had come was a shot from distance that was dragged just wide by Danny Higginbotham.

You could not fairly criticise Saints' players for losing to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

You could not fairly criticise their effort or commitment this week, or in the past few games.

Right now, they just don't believe in themselves.

Wigley is the man who has to change that, has to find some way to inspire his team before they sink still further and any last shreds of confidence disappear altogether.