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Southampton: The fans need to treat this weekend as a fresh start

By Chris Hughes

WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 03: Dusan Tadic of Southampton reacts during the Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Southampton at The Hawthorns on February 3, 2018 in West Bromwich, England. (Photo by Lynne Cameron/Getty Images)
WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 03: Dusan Tadic of Southampton reacts during the Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Southampton at The Hawthorns on February 3, 2018 in West Bromwich, England. (Photo by Lynne Cameron/Getty Images) /
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Tomorrow afternoon Southampton face off against Wigan in the FA Cup, with it being the first game in charge for new boss Mark Hughes.

The last nine months or so have been nothing short of a shambles from top to bottom for the Saints, with it culminating in the far-too-late sacking of Mauricio Pellegrino this past Monday.

His replacement is the seasoned Premier League manager Mark Hughes, who once wore the red and white of Southampton and brings over a dozen years of experience in the top flight.

He takes charge this weekend against Wigan Athletic knowing a win would see the Saints book a place at Wembley, and all the supporters need to treat this game as a fresh start.

Several Southampton players have enjoyed torrid campaigns in truth, but they deserve as much of clean slate as Mark Hughes will get.

Next: Saints sack Mauricio Pellegrino

COVENTRY, ENGLAND – JANUARY 06: Mark Hughes, Manager of Stoke City looks on during the The Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Coventry City and Stoke City at Ricoh Arena on January 6, 2018 in Coventry, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
COVENTRY, ENGLAND – JANUARY 06: Mark Hughes, Manager of Stoke City looks on during the The Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Coventry City and Stoke City at Ricoh Arena on January 6, 2018 in Coventry, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) /

For example, there’s no real reason why Hughes may not prefer to bring back Fraser Forster tomorrow. The goalkeeper lost his place to Alex McCarthy back at the end of last year but form aside, there’s no denial that Forster is the superior stopper.

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Whilst there is much more chance that Macca will retain his place and start tomorrow, supporters need to be braced for the possibility that Forster may return to the first team tomorrow.

In addition, Nathan Redmond’s inability replicate his form from the campaign before resulted in the fans booing him before him before he was eventually dropped.

Hughes has been partial to using pacier players out wide especially during his latter years managing Stoke, meaning there is also a very realistic chance that Redmond could return to the starting fray tomorrow.

The fans need to forget what happened under Pellegrino with his tactics not allowing Southampton’s attackers enough freedom to express themselves.

Other players including Steven Davis and Dusan Tadic have also endured perhaps their weakest season in Southampton colours. Whilst the former is absent for the fixture, the latter will need all the support of the Saints faithful if he’s to enjoy a good game against the Latics tomorrow.

Whatever has happened over the course of this season, or in truth the season before, needs to be forgotten about tomorrow. All the supporters need to give the players a fresh start as they’ll be playing under a new system with different tactics and hopefully a positive outlook.