Over the past few years the Capital One Cup has not been seen as a priority for Saints, now that all needs to change as we head up to Stoke City for a place in the quarter finals.

Mauricio Pochettino made himself quite clear during his time at Saints, he saw the Capital One Cup, indeed all cups as a distraction from what he saw as the main target and that was Champions League Qualification.

Now i have never had any problem with ambition so long as it is linked with realism and achievable targets along the way, all of which lead to that ultimate goal, however under Pochettino I never thought that was the case, I always felt that the ambition that our ex manager professed to have had no basis in his actual track record,but more to the point there seemed to be no plan how as a club we were going to jump from 14th in 2012/13 and what had been mostly a relegation battle, to challenging for the Champions league qualification places with little substance in between, in short it was little more than idle boasting, in mathematics 2+2 will always equal 4, but in football the best laid plans of mice and men can not only go wrong, but not go to plan even when you have done everything right.

Now however we seem to have a manager and Chairman who in sporting terms not only know what they are talking about, but have walked the walk, Ronald Koeman has played at the top level and managed there too, Ralph Krueger not only has a background in professional sport but has had a career in motivation techniques, he more than anyone knows that you have to put the foundations in place and if they are not there, even spending multi millions will not guarantee you success, look how long it has taken Man City to become a force.

This being the case it seems that unlike Pochettino who saw both Cup competitions as a distraction from the League, we as a club now see doing well in them as a natural progression, our ambitions are now clear, we want to establish ourselves in the top 10, build on that to challenge for a higher place in that top 10 and look to qualify for European competition either through the league or by winning one of the cups.

But winning even the Capital One Cup is much more than just winning a trophy, of course it does get you in the record books and gives your supporters a day out at Wembley, but it is a lot more than that, it is firstly a statement of intent that you are able to compete rather than just make up the numbers and it secondly gives you European competition.

Both of these reasons are crucial if a club is to establish itself and move up to the next level, if you want to sign good players and keep them, then playing in European competition is crucial, all players want to be in the spotlight in this way, even if it is only the Europa League rather than the Champions League.

So the trip to Stoke is perhaps the most important game of the season so far, win it and we are in the quarter finals, a good draw could see us into the semi finals and on the cusp of Wembley, if we can do that then it makes the January transfer window a lot easier for a start, both in and out of the club, if the likes of Spurs come a calling in January then it will be a lot easier to hang on to players if we are the club on the verge of a Wembley appearance and they are a club in disarray, similarly in the summer would Morgan Schneiderlin for instance prefer to stay at Saints and play in Europe or go to a club who are not in that competition.

That is the thing that Pochettino or Nicola Cortese never grasped,that although money is a big big issue for players wanting to leave, the chance to win something and play in Europe is also a big carrot and should not be underestimated.

The next step for Saints is to emulate the likes of Everton and Spurs and that is to be a club that competes and challenges rather than just makes up the numbers, when we can do that we can talk about the Champions league, after all if it was a easy to qualify for as our ex Chairman often suggested, why have so few clubs actually managed to do so outside of the usual suspects.

Hopefully now we are positive in all areas as a football club, the old saying is that "Chase money and you will never catch it, chase success and money will come to you" is still relevant for clubs like Saints in football.

Photo: Action Images

slynch added 10:29 - Oct 28 I don't think MP treated the cups as a "distraction" more that having only a paper thin squad a few injuries would decimate it. As indeed happened during the Xmas period and Saints dropped out of the top 6, if I recall. Having sold the has-beens and overrated and bought well, the squad is now 2 sheets of paper thick and now it might be worth the risk of putting out half a team. If Clyne and Pelle and Tadic got injured over the next couple of cup games the team would slide down the table into mediocrity. And worse, come Jan no one is gonna want to join a team heading south and it will be impossible to strengthen the team with quality. One or two slips ups and Saints will be as quickly be perceived, incorrectly, by "the experts", as a flash-in-the-pan as they, indeed were as, "relegation fodder" at the beginning of the season. Let's hope Ronko makes the "right" team selection under these new circumstance as indeed MP did under his, and resist the pressure from baying, myopic fans as MP did. I would put the core of the team on the bench, for "emergencies" and give the under-used and younger players a shot. No doubt Stoke won't have their best out either.

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SaintNick added 11:03 - Oct 28 Is our squad this season really any bigger than last ? I would say not much we just have better players now and a manager who is using players rather than just sticking to 12 I think you would love those three players to get injured and the team to slide into mediocrity as you put it so you can say i told you so. Losing those players would be a blow, but not the end of the world, firstly Gardos & Alderweireld can play full back as can Jack Cork, secondly mane or long could play up front and thirdly as big a blow as losing Tadic would be we have a squad that can adapt. Last season we had a one trick pony in charge who could not change a thing, this season we have a manager who can change playing style as well as use a squad

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slynch added 11:18 - Oct 28 That's a very cruel assumption! Especially as I predicted they would be 2nd by Xmas! And put money on it! However, as you point out, the teams sheet is thicker this year for the reasons I said, and there is some reasonable cover and adjustments can be made, but that would still leave a weakened side, but not not a very weakened side like last year. However, saying that MP never changed anything, and they say he put out weakened sides in Cup games is a bit of contradiction. Surely then ,he must have been a 2 trick pony?

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SaintNick added 11:33 - Oct 28 Your a brave man I still wouldnt predict 2nd at Xmas, with regards to injury that is all a matter of luck, if we have injuries at the right times against weaker teams we are well capable of coping, Mp never changed a thing, just because he put out a resrve side in the cups didnt mean he actually made any decisions tactically, he rarely made a change for the better
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Winchsaint added 12:26 - Oct 28 Did MP not also cede total control of the cup squad to his assistant Jesus Perez?
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Fordy added 12:29 - Oct 28 It's a tricky one. I think give our current league position I don't think there would be a huge outcry if we put out a weakened side. The problem last year with Poch was that he put out a weakened side against Sunderland when our league position was very much already sewn up. We were far enough off the teams above us and far enough above those below that our league position was unlikely to change dramatically. However, I hope and think we will put out a strong side against Stoke.

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BoondockSaint added 12:58 - Oct 28 We should approach this as a second place team would: Sit our top 3-5 players and only bring them on if they are needed. Not playing them for a full game does two things: rests them for the important league games and cuts down on the risk of injury. I don't want to hear any of that "Oh, they could just as easily get hurt in practice" drivel-their teamates aren't going to go clattering into them studs up like the oppostion will. Nick, you are being a bit harsh on slynch! No one on this site wants the players to get hurt. Things are finally going our way for a while and as typical Saints fans lots of us are worried about could go wrong.

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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 13:32 - Oct 28 slynch - your first comment is spot on. Koeman needs to protect Tadic and Pelle. They can't play every game without getting fatigued and risking injury. If we lost Tadic and/or Pelle we wouldn't be able to replace them. We have cover in Long but he'd never be able to dominate in the air, do all of the hold up work and link up play that Pelle does. And no-one else in the squad has the technical quality and creative class of Tadic. We have some good alternatives, don't get me wrong, but they are not as good as Tadic. Pelle and Tadic need to be protected and if they are showing any signs of tiredness then it would be best to start them on the bench and bring them on if needed. Stoke won't play their strongest team. What are our ambitions now? A top 6 finish? Finish as high as we can? After the start we've had, would it be better to rest some of our best players in the cup and focus on how high we can finish in the league?

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SaintDownUnder added 14:27 - Oct 28 We looked tired towards the back end of the Stoke game. Nick, Koeman has rotated his starting 11 less than any manager in the league this season, much in the same way as our previous manager operated (I don't want to name him for fear of riling you). I anticipate (and hope) that he rests Tadic, pelle, Morgan etc etc, the great news is that the players we have coming in are decent so I still think we'll give Stoke a decent game.

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Consigliere added 18:03 - Oct 28 I have a rather different take on this. In my opinion fortune favours the bold. I hope that RK puts out his best team and instructs them to go all out for a win. If we succeed it will do wonders for confidence in the league and come the January window, players will want to come here rather than look elsewhere (Rodriguez and Ward-Prowse please note how green the grass elsewhere looks now). If we don't win then that would be a pity but a statement of intent will have been made. Now is not the time for caution!

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davepid added 19:33 - Oct 28 Nick interesting article but Not sure if we should drag Cortesse into not having cup ambition.The FA cup game at Sunderland was dire from team selection, team morale and tactics. Will Mc Queen ever play in the first team again? We are slightly stronger than last but not as much as we may think. Im worried about our back 4 if they get injured or lose form. Nick you are unfailingly gracious tp those you disagree with , Slynch deserves the same. After all his post to be second by xmas was extradordinary when he made it in August - its the only post I can recalal from august? But it doesnt look so outrageous now.

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WestSussexSaint added 20:58 - Oct 28 While I applaud the optimism from this article, talk of winning the cup and the impact this would have on our future transfer policy is a tad premature. Stoke are no pushovers especially at home and like Saints will be seeing this as a good chance to advance in this cup. There are also enough top sides in this competition, who will start to field stronger teams as they progress, to not take a final appearance for granted. Our 2003 cup final appearance was as much to do with luck and a kind draw as it was good play on the pitch. I hope we do beat Stoke and pull out lower league opposition at home in the next round, but I won't dream of Wembley just yet.

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cheltenhamsaint added 10:18 - Oct 29 Nick, you are being harsh on slynch, and it is unlike you to react in such a way. He was one of the few posters who took a glass half full stance in the summer providing some balance to the discussions. I always took his "2nd by Xmas" quote tongue in cheek at the time rather than a prediction, and we should allow him the latitude to now use it as his cheery sign off/mantra however the season pans out. Can't decide on what team to field tonight but luckily for you lot I am not the manager. I hope everyone enjoys the match in whatever capacity they will be following it and there is a positive result for Saints

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