THE reaction of the players said it all.

Yes, it was a dramatic last-minute victory, but the hugging and salutes to the crowd indicated a real sense of relief.

It was only the second game of the season but, amazingly, Saturday's victory against Blackburn had a make-or-break feel to it.

The reason was that Paul Sturrock's future as Saints manager does not look secure.

Most supporters will understandably find that hard to believe.

Sturrock, below, has only been manager for five months and barely had a dozen games - mostly with a horrific injury list.

But under pressure he is. And that's not idle media gossip.

It is quite simply because people at St Mary's have chosen to tell journalists the manager does not have the confidence of all the players and that his position is in serious jeopardy.

As ever, at times like this, chairman Rupert Lowe opted to divert attention by criticising the press for all the concern over Sturrock, as well as James Beattie's possible transfer to Aston Villa.

For the record, nothing would please the Daily Echo more than to report that Sturrock's position was currently safe and Beattie was definitely not interested in a move away.

Unfortunately, we can't because neither Lowe nor Beattie is convincing on either count.

Want to know how to end all the speculation? Easy. Lowe has to simply say something like: "It is absurd that Paul Sturrock's position as manager is even being discussed and there is no question of him facing the sack in the foreseeable future. He is a great manager and has the full support of everyone at the club."

Ideally, he could also persuade James Beattie to say something like: "I don't want to go to Villa. I definitely want to stay with Saints."

As for what was an outstanding match, Sturrock got the team right. Saints looked short of pace in defence against Aston Villa and Paul Telfer does offer more running at right-back than Jason Dodd. He also links up extremely well with Fernandes.

Elsewhere, the grit and energy of Rory Delap and David Prutton in the centre supplemented the creativity of Anders Svensson and Fabrice Fernandes extremely well.

Indeed, since taking over as Saints boss, Sturrock seems to have succeeded in getting more out of Svensson than Gordon Strachan, albeit by handing him a little more freedom.

Although the crowd was the lowest we have seen at St Mary's for a Premiership match in almost two years, the atmosphere was good.

The fans really got behind their team, particularly Beattie, while the players responded - as did Sturrock, who was as animated on the touchline as he has ever been since becoming Saints manager.

He also handled the pressure well in the post-match interviews, concentrating on what was an electrifying match.

If his future as Saints boss is on the line, it is hard to imagine the emotional roller-coaster he experienced.

For now, though, most supporters made what they want fairly clear on Saturday: Both Sturrock and Beattie to stay at the club.

Whether others agree remains open to debate.