LEEDS United are the Championship’s in-form team as they visit Saints this weekend despite having claimed just three more points from the opening eight.
Those three points are enough to put nine places between them in the table with Daniel Farke’s side sixth (13) and Russell Martin’s in 15th (10).
Only a seven-goal win would allow Saints to leapfrog their fellow recently relegated counterparts, such is the difference between the starts of the two historic clubs.
While Saints have entered free-fall in their last four Championship matches, Leeds have come through them without as much as conceding a goal.
Two 0-0 draws with Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City combine with 3-0 wins over Millwall and Watford to put back on track their promotion campaign.
They have only lost once all season, during the second weekend of the schedule, despite having a summer as or if not more tumultuous than Southampton.
While United States international Tyler Adams and regular goalscorer Rodrigo were the only two starters to leave Elland Road for fees, this does not tell the full story.
Due to relegation clauses inserted in their contracts under the previous directing regime at Leeds, half of their starting XI left on loan deals.
The likes of Chelsea’s Ethan Ampadu and Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara have been signed to plug some of those gaps but they did not cost huge fees.
The big-money signing at Leeds this summer was Martin’s former Swansea hotshot, Joel Piroe, who Saints missed out on as a result of timing.
The Dutchman, who netted 41 Championship goals in two seasons under Martin in Wales, has picked up where he left off with four in five for his new club.
Had a club come in with an acceptable fee for striker Che Adams early enough in the window, Saints may have had the budget to pursue a no-brainer move for Piroe.
Adams scored three in the first three of the season, including two as a substitute, but after being left out against QPR amid transfer speculation, has failed to find the net in September.
Only Adam Armstrong and Sam Edozie have this month, while Saints have shipped 12 goals in their four consecutive defeats.
The atmosphere at points during and after home defeats against Leicester City and Ipswich Town painted a worrying picture for what may come this weekend.
Saints are without a clean sheet in 11 at home and have won just two of their last 20 league matches at St Mary's.
Martin has stopped short of actually saying it but there is no doubt he has felt the pinch of external support over the last two weeks.
After years of hurt, patience has worn thin and an expectation for success this season following relegation appears to weigh heavy on an introverted group.
Support is easily won back through performance and Southampton’s fans will still turn up each week in the hope of seeing it.
However, it is a vicious cycle with some questioning whether the playing group has it within them to come through adversity – as they have proven time and again they have not.
Only eight games into what is a long-term project following Martin’s appointment by new director of football Jason Wilcox, there are already mixed feelings.
It will be important for Martin to stick with a settled back four of Kyle Walker-Peters, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Jan Bednarek and Ryan Manning.
Although explained adequately through Manning simply needing a rest, the Mason Holgate experiment backfired at Riverside Stadium.
Shea Charles is an easy pick for holding midfield and Flynn Downes, although not yet at his best, should support him.
The four to play in front of them is more limited in choice but Martin must find a way to harness Charly Alcaraz's goalscoring potential.
The young Argentine midfielder is currently out of the team for reasons such as personal life circumstances and difficulty picking up the new tactical demands.
While fair enough, Martin probably cannot afford to go too long without getting the best out of Alcaraz, who registered four goals and two assists in five months of the Premier League.
In football, a ‘vocal minority’ always shouts the loudest and, realistically, the idea of sacking a manager this early on is not one wholly shared.
There is, however, a familiar air of scepticism, uncertainty and concern, and Leeds will be licking their lips at the idea of a St Mary’s visit.
September’s block of fixtures was always going to be tough with two northeast trips, the other two relegated Premier League sides and in-form Ipswich Town.
Saints face the very real prospect of coming out with five defeats in five and a total loss of momentum gathered – the latter assertion is already the case.
A continued dip in form will be a test of Wilcox’s resolve, in his first senior director job after a decade at Manchester City academy.
Fixtures against lowly Stoke City and Rotherham are no guarantees but do represent a chance to turn the form around – albeit losing at bottom Middlesbrough.
At least this weekend, though, things seem more likely to get worse before they get better. Martin and his side will need to earn full support but may need it to get through.
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