Saints head up to the North East looking to secure their Premier league future before the final day of the season.

Saints head to the Stadium Of Light for a game that doesnt look so much do or die as it did a few days ago, knowing that a win would see them mathematically safe from the drop, the fact that we are even in this situation highlights that although it looks like we will survive, the same weak spots that we have had all season have come back to haunt us at vital times and if we are to survive a second season and indeed prosper then we need to address them in the summer.

But on Sunday the chance is there to put underland to the sword and in doing so end all the worries, victory for Saints will see us seven points ahead of Wigan who will only have two games left, if Saints were to fail to win then it wouldnt be a disaster, at least not yet, but it would rely on Wigan failing to beat Arsenal at the Emirates on Tuesday otherwise it could be a tense last day of the season.

The important thing first though is to ensure that we dont lose, our problem though is that we have now gone three games not only without a win but more worryingly a goal in that time and it will be interesting to see if Mauricio Pochettino does anything to change that.

If he does it could see Rickie Lambert dropped to the bench and Jay Rodriguez pushed up front, possibly with Jason Puncheon coming in to replace Rodriguez in midfield, this would add some pace up front lacking in previous games.

The danger man for Sunderland in my opinion is Adam Johnson, against Stoke on Monday night he was just about the only player to look like creating anything and the key to keeping him quiet will be our left hand side, it needs Adam Lallana to be aware and Luke Shaw to not get sucked in too much by Johnsons tricks on the ball.

But even if Johnson does create, Sunderland dont seem to have much up front to aim for, at home the Mackems dont create much, despite a reasonable home record (for a lower table side anyway) of five wins, seven draws and only six defeats, they have only scored 19, a goals tally that only QPR have failed to match in the Premier, against that though they have conceded only 18, the same as Champions Man Utd and bettered by only four sides, all in the top seven.

So it looks like being a low scoring game, on Monday Sunderland looked a poor side driven on by a mad man on the touchline, they had plenty of fight in them, but little quality, on the other hand Stoke were just as poor, although seemingly having quality having little fight, the fact is our Premiership survival is very much in our own hands.

We will now see if our new manager truly is the tactician that some would say or whether rumours from Spain of him as being a one trick pony are nearer the mark.

Truth is this season isnt when we are going to find out, it will be next when he has got the players that he wants coming into the side, rahter than trying to play his preferred formation when he doesnt have the personel to do it.

Saints now need to show their character though, our away record isnt bad considering the terrible start it got off too, nows the time to improve it a little though.       

Photo: Action Images

LennyJam added 13:40 - May 10 what rumours from spain?
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JazzyJeff added 13:55 - May 10 I would like to see us go and attack Sunderland for the first twenty minutes (like West Brom did to us). Start with SRL and Jay up front in a 4-4-2 formation and go for it ! Whatever happens,I am pretty sure we will be safe, but we need to finish on a high to help attract new players of the calibre needed to play in the top half of the Premiereship next season. I will be glued to my radio on Sunday full of expectation - COYR !

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richardmdcooper added 14:37 - May 10 This is the sort of game we really should be winning if we want to consider ourselves a mid-table team but so far under Poch, we've struggled to beat the teams around us (west ham, swansea, wigan, newcastle, qpr, norwich, wba etc..)..Agree with jazzy jeff on trying a 4-4-2 but can't see it happening
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saintmark1976 added 16:50 - May 10 We would all like to win and put the situation to bed but surely this is a game where it is simply more important not to lose? If I have understood the table correctly then one point on Sunday will need us needing to draw at home to Stoke to stay up i e on goal difference. This assumes a worse case scenario for us with Wigan winning both their last two games. If we were to lose then we would be needing to beat Stoke on the last day of the season to keep Wigan below us. I would suggest playing a five man midfield or even an extra defender as a sweeper. Negative I acknowledge but on occasions you need to adapt your tactics to the situation in which you find yourselves.

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LennyJam added 17:31 - May 10 Still would like to know where these rumours lie about MP being a 1 trick pony..???? read this if you think he is, especially the last para http://www.eplindex.com/31750/tottenham-1-southampton-0-indepth-tactical-analysi
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SaintNick added 17:41 - May 10 When he originally came, an Espanyol fan connected with the QPR site did a big article on there about Pochetinno and how he was very predictable with Espanyol and would often start seasons very well but would peter out and didn't adapt to other teams tactics etc
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stmichael added 17:55 - May 10 Interesting artice suggesting SRL should be dropped and our manager is a one trick poney. Very confrontational indeed. Maybe JROD should be dropped , much more practicle and sensible but I do agree that JP should start. As for the manager ask Mancini Ferguson AVB Benitez Wenger and Rogers if he is a 1 trick pony. Only AVB and Ferguson beat us narrowly and both conceded they were very lucky to do so.

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schatfield added 17:59 - May 10 LennyJam, that is a great link! I havent read a report like that in such detail in a long time, very interesting reading. Especially the last point when the write states, Saints may have lost the game (with spuds) but gained an important lesson for the future under Pochetinno. I dont think our manager is 1 trick at all. We have largely a squad based on players who have come up through the leagues dont forget, yet still we can take the game to the top 4 clubs in the country.

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1teeminants added 16:04 - May 11 Adam Johnson played very well against Stoke but the player i rate very highly is Danny Rose who also had a great game the other night. A very similar player to Clyne very dangerous going forward. I Was' nt impressed with the others though.
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slynch added 11:52 - May 12 What colour will Saints play in?
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