RIGHT now Saints need a leader. They are in trouble.

Not big trouble yet, but they are in trouble.

Last Monday in these pages I highlighted the fact that to make the most of the point at Highbury, Saints HAD to beat West Brom.

Everybody expected Saints to get beaten at Arsenal and then defeat West Brom at home.

That was a fair assessment and would have given Saints three points from the two games as well as a valuable lift above their fellow strugglers.

Instead, two draws means only two points from the two games which is bitterly disappointing.

There's no point in glossing over this poor result - and there's no point in pretending West Brom are a very good team because, in Premiership terms, they aren't.

They are the worst side Saints have faced in the Premiership this season and, although Saints had the better of the play and deserved a point, they were, in the end, lucky to get it.

In and around the camp at the moment they are missing a leader.

Whether that man would be Michael Svensson, Jason Dodd or any of the other injured players is impossible to say.

But right now this isn't a test of Steve Wigley's coaching skills.

This is a test of his leadership.

His players can play football, but at the moment they are low.

Results have been poor so it's no surprise. They are sticking to their task in games but without giving any air of confidence.

His test is lifting them. This is where he can prove those who say he is a great coach but not cut out to be a manager wrong.

On the field, Wigley needs a leader as well.

It should be coming in the centre of defence and the centre of midfield but it isn't.

Andreas Jakobsson and Claus Lundekvam are both good footballers but very similar - there is no dominant ball winner that steps out and commands a presence like Svensson can.

And Saints are suffering because they are being exposed in the air.

In the centre of midfield there is so much effort that you want things to go well.

But there is nobody in there really grabbing a game by the scruff of the neck once things start going badly.

The Saints players aren't hiding, they don't look scared, they aren't quitting or giving up - they have only lost one game by more than a single goal all season - and they deserve praise for that.

But now they need to be strong and determined. They have to fight their way out of this mess.

There will be no better time for them to stand up and show their mettle than against Portsmouth.

They simply have to.