In an alternate reality, Southampton would be travelling to Preston North End filled with end of season nerves, as automatic promotion could still be on the cards.
Unfortunately, that isn't the case, with no need for any fans travelling to Lancashire on Saturday to have butterflies, as the Saints have a secure place in the playoffs, heading into the final game of the regular season.
Still, there will be a fun and joyous atmosphere at Deepdale, as Southampton fans get to bask in the glory of their team, before being consumed by nerves in the playoffs.
In particular, they should be chanting Ryan Manning's name when playing the Lilywhites, as the Irishman has been a rock-solid performer all season long, away from just an upturn in form as of late.
Manning is a guaranteed starter for the playoffs
The 29-year-old is ageing like a fine wine at St. Mary's, with this being his third, and most successful individual campaign, since swapping Swansea City for the Saints.
During Southampton's last promotion to the Premier League, Manning would only collect two goal contributions.
Ryan Manning's deflected free-kick has brought Southampton level ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/vpxr4Isjbx
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) April 28, 2026
He has become an attacking machine under Tonda Eckert, in stark contrast, with a crazy eight goals and six assists next to his name this campaign, with his last goal coming in the 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town, which killed his team's faint hopes of a dramatic top-two position, but only reaffirmed his key first-team status under the German.
Winning a lively 3.8 duels on average, too, Manning is a guaranteed starter for Southampton in the chaos of playoffs to come, having featured in this lottery back in 2024 when Martin and Co. went up to the Premier League, via this frenzied route.
With 116 appearances under his belt on the South Coast, now, he will be seen as an experienced leader Eckert can depend on, when the playoff games become chaotic, and Manning has come out with a message to his fellow Saints players, to ensure their heads don't droop for too long, after their automatic promotion near-miss.
Manning's defiant comments after Ipswich draw
Manning would have clearly been disappointed with the final outcome of the Ipswich game, as the Saints were mere moments away from clinching a huge win.
That was until Jack Clarke rained on the Southampton parade, by curling a fantastic effort home in the 87th minute to snatch a share of the points.
Still, while it's fine for heads to drop momentarily, Manning has come out with comments that should hopefully rally the St. Mary's troops, ahead of the playoffs commencing.
He said, when chatting to the Daily Echo: “With the run that we’ve been on, we’ve got so close, and then the hope comes, but we know what’s happening now.
"When we were 21st in the table, if you had told us we would secure play-offs with a game to go, we would have snapped your hand off.
“The start we had didn’t give us a chance. The reality of winning all 10 games to get promoted automatically is a bit of a fairytale.
“To get seven wins and two draws, you can’t be disappointed with it.
“In a way, if it was going to happen, it’s probably better that it happened now because it gives us a few days to get over the disappointment.
“We can get our heads around it and know that we have three or four games now to get to Wembley and get promoted."
It would have been incredible if Eckert and Co. were to sneak into the top two, off the back of their earth-shuddering form.
But, as Manning puts it, at least they're now aware that they're going to have to clinch promotion, courtesy of the more scenic playoff route, with lots of time to spare before the top six battle gets underway.
Being a seasoned pro, the Irishman will also hope he can cap off the regular campaign with another committed showing at Preston, as the dependable defender is in with a serious shout to be the Saints' Player of the Season.
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