Is Eckert's 25-man squad why Southampton are sixth despite the deduction?

Tonda Eckert told BBC Sport the club took a conscious decision to start the season with a very small squad. Twelve league games on, Southampton are sixth, three points behind Swansea, and they would be second without the four-point deduction.

The plan sounds risky. Last season 36 players made a Championship appearance for Southampton, and this season Eckert has used just 23.

Eckert only arrived in November last season, so part of that 36 reflects a squad he inherited. Even so, the gap shows how deliberate this autumn's approach has been.

A small squad at West Ham

In the build-up to the West Ham game at London Stadium, Cyle Larin and Flynn Downes were both pushing to play. Eckert made a late call to leave them out.

Southampton scored three goals in 34 minutes without them. Eckert has said that a small group lets players step up when injuries hit, and Lewis Dobbin, who scored the third, was the example.

Five straight wins against playoff teams support Eckert's small-squad strategy, as Saints Marching counted. A group that plays together every week should know its own strengths and weaknesses.

Eckert named six unused substitutes at West Ham: George Long, Mads Roerslev, Zach Abbott, Nathan Wood, Cam Bragg and Tom Fellows. Nobody on that list is an obvious replacement for a forward, and the small squad was visible from the dugout.

Sports Mole points out that Southampton's only league defeat in their last ten games came at Wrexham before the September international break. That is a long stretch for a group Eckert says he built to be small.

So the answer starts as a yes.

Small squad problems

A lack of squad depth up front is becoming a problem. Divin Mubama has only 145 league minutes and no starts, Saints Marching reported, and Eckert has preferred both Larin and Dobbin to the loanee.

One of the 23 players used, Ben Brereton-Diaz, has since gone out on loan. That was Eckert's decision, but it shrinks the pool further.

Eckert admits injuries can hurt a small squad. Another absence up front would test the plan in the middle of a promotion chase, with Tuesday games at West Brom on the 3rd November and Sheffield United on the 24th.

What would help? A January addition who adds a different option, a forward who can play with Larin or Dobbin instead of replacing either of them.

The verdict is mostly yes. The small squad is a major reason Southampton are sixth despite the deduction, but the key question is whether one more injury up front ruins the Saints' chances.

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