Things haven't gone to plan for Southampton this season. Their return to the Championship hasn't gone as smoothly as they'd have liked, and Will Still is struggling to get a grip on his new role.
Of course, this could all change in a heartbeat. All it will take is one positive performance from the Saints to get that winning mojo back, and then Still can kick on to complete the objectives that Southampton absolutely must achieve.
That said, it hasn't been all doom and gloom for the Saints. One diamond in the rough has been Finn Azaz, who has shown every sign of potential to be a great signing for the Saints.
Sure, Azaz is yet to score his first goal for Southampton. However, he's proven to be a great team player, and his work off the ball is arguably more impressive than his work on the ball.
Finn Azaz said the quiet part out loud about his goal-less Southampton start
Speaking after facing his former side, Middlesbrough, over the weekend, a game that Southampton drew 1-1, Azaz has said he would love to score his first goal in a Southampton shirt. That said, it's not a moment that he looks at with any pressure on himself.
In his own words, Azaz said: "We know [Sheffield United is] a really big game, there's no question about that, and we're going to be really up for it. It would be great [to score my first Saints goal]."
"I was fuming that I didn't score on the weekend with that chance, but I'm not putting too much pressure on it. I'm more focused on us getting a win."
As pointed out by the Daily Echo, it took Azaz five games to score his first goal for both Middlesbrough and Plymouth. If he were to repeat that trend against Sheffield United, it would be the perfect time to kick on and score even more goals for the Saints.
Last season, Azaz scored 12 goals and provided 11 assists in the Championship. All things considered, that's a pretty remarkable record. It's for this reason that rival fans and pundits alike are turning to Azaz to score his first goal for the Saints.
The feeling is that it will come, and nobody at Southampton is putting any pressure on it. After all, the entire Southampton squad is going through a rebuild right now, and players still need to get used to each other, just like they do the manager.