Saints gaffer Will Still enjoys a decent St. Mary's support ahead of his first team training but the season fixtures in the initial stretch might make him a fan favourite or an out of favour boss quickly.
Almost a month after taking the baton from Simon Rusk, the day has come which Will Still must have fondly marked in his calendar. Yes, we're talking about the Championship's highly anticipated schedule which never ceases to build up excitement despite the Saints wishing to avoid playing there in the first place.
By now, every Southampton fan must be busy checking out Wrexham and their squad for obvious reasons. If you already did that, then it's easy to conclude the Saints got a winnable matchup at the first time of asking.
Nothing new in that as Russell Martin's men also strolled past the initial phases without much trouble. Along similar lines, Will Still would be a smiling man too but only until he breaks down the first five challenges in store for him.
English football greets Will Still with a tricky Championship start
As pointed out by Saints Extra, Southampton are due a complicated Ipswich Town trip and a tricky outing against neighbours Portsmouth. Rewinding back to Martin's Championship run, it was a tale of two halves in the first ten matches.
The current Rangers coach failed to extend the unbeaten streak in the fifth matchday and from then, it was a drastic change in fortunes for a whole month. On comparing, Still may find it incredibly tough to avoid opening the losing tally as soon as the Ipswich visit.
The Tractor Boys amassed almost double points than Southampton in the past league season and will definitely aim to command an early lead at the top of the table. Regarding Portsmouth, the St. Mary's will be brimming with confidence pre-game but Still will have a big responsibility not to turn those cheerful atmospheres into a booing-fest.
Ultimately, it's a make or break beginning waiting for Still and remaining in the top two spots by the fifth full-time whistle will be the fair fan expectation.