Ralph Hasenhuttl has built a team that has got us into 4th place, now he needs to use the squad to keep us there as we go into a hectic period encompassing Xmas and the New Year.

We have now started a very hectic period of games, Sheffield United was the first of 6 in just 20 days, if we are to get through them and indeed the season it will be about using the squad.

I get that Ralph likes to work with a small section of players in his squad, but if we look at the bench yesterday , it could be said that Shane Long aside it is our strongest bench, but if we take the last six weeks the 6 outfield players sat on that bench have barely played, only Djenepo has any real game time.

In the 5 matches up to Sheffield United the game time was :

Stephens - 135 minutes
Salisu -0 minutes
Diallo - 13 minutes
Redmond - 37 minutes
N Lundulu - 1 minute
Djenepo - 270 minutes

Of the 6 on the bench only Stephens & Djenepo have started games in the previous 5 games before Sunday, & Stephens two appearances came right at the start of the run when he replaced the injured Bednarek at half time against Aston Villa and then deputised for the also injured Ryan Bertrand the following week.

So if we are to not only get through the next two games , but the two afterwards at Fulham and then at home to West Ham, we will have to use the squad a little bit more.

Ralph has rarely used a tactical substitution in any of this period, virtually all the changes outside of the last 10 minutes have been down to injuries, the rest have been about running the clock down.

The only substitutions that I can think of where we did make a tactical change was Shane Long on for Djenepo after 72 minutes against Manchester United and then Ings for Djenepo again at half time at Brighton.

We need to use the squad more tactically as well as to give players a rest.

A friend of mine was saying before the Aston Villa game that with Danny Ings importance to us he should be used sparingly, once a game is won then he should be taken off, this game home to roost in that game, at 4-1 up Ings should have been safely on the bench and Shane Long on at least 10 -15 minutes before he was injured in the 85th minute.

Likewise yesterday, at 2-0 up with 20 minutes to go, Ings should have been off, the game was won and we have two more games coming up in the space of 6 days, the striker is back from injury and needs to be used sparingly till he has his fitness back.

When Che Adams was hoiked off on 85 minutes why was it not Ings ? He got injured in the last 5 against Villa it could have happened again.

If we are going to stay up there with the top sides then we have to have a squad and that squad needs to be ready and sharp.

A good core team wins matches, but without a good squad you don't win titles or cups or for that matter qualify for Europe, it is the squad players who gain those extra points that might have been lost when injuries and suspensions strike

Saints can stay the course, this is a strange season and this article is not in any way intended to be negative towards Ralph Hasenhuttl who has worked miracles since he came to this club and hopefully he will continue to do so.

But as the autumn of last season showed, even Ralph is still learning about how tough the Premier League is and is still revamping his coaching set up, we are still a work in progress and that means looking at the areas that we can improve on.

Photo: Action Images

underweststand added 11:36 - Dec 14 Interesting things in the article Nick, but there are a few more points to consider .. Firstly.. the age-old manager's axiom ..." never change a winning side ". Except for the Man Utd game (where we played well - but they got the points) we hadn't been playing badly. We overcame the Redmond / Ings injury problems ..and both Walcott and Djenepo DAJFU and did it well. None of the other games had been " done and dusted " and without injuries there was little need for subs. except for the sake of making them. I agree we need to balance the squad and give others a bit of game time, but few of the new / young subs. will shine unless they get several full games under there belts, and that is a big risk with the current team playing so well. Usually changes are forced on you by injury , suspension or someone having a really bad game, and there have been very few of those of late. As for Danny Ings. Everyone would agree that Danny's (pre-injury) form was top class, (and at time he was our best defender) but on Sunday it was clear he lacked that" extra edge " that had got him goals previously. I believe that Ralph gave him the full 90, in part in the hope that he would get back to scoring PDQ, (and also to keep him sweet in the anticipation of the much discussed contract extension). No player "likes " to be subbed. My long term hope is whenever we are "forced " to make changes and use the likes of Diallo, Salisu, N'Lundulu or Tella ...they show up well and give of their best.

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SaintPaulVW added 12:49 - Dec 14 It's a tricky one, keep the short term momentum going by using the same match fit players or look for long term security by blooding in replacements or even successors. As recent injuries to Armstrong, Redmond Djenepo and Ings have shown we have a flexible squad that can adapt as required. I am sure once Ralph isn't covering for injuries he will rotate a few players to keep them fresh. For example, he did it in the Chelsea game last season when Ings was rested.

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halftimeorange added 14:26 - Dec 14 If Danny has to be taken off with 20 minutes to go I have every faith in N'Lundulu giving opposing defences a hard time. Yesterday, he had Ramsdale panicking almost as soon as he appeared. He's looked a handful in other games in which I've seen him although Sheff U were a beaten team late on and a stiffer test beckons for him. Maybe Arsenal as they are flaky at the moment.

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highfield49 added 17:42 - Dec 14 I got the impression that Adams was substituted because he had taken a knock on the heel or lower calf region. Like others, I think N'Lundulu is going to prove to be getting more game time sooner than later and Tella could well be above Long in the pecking order as well. Diallo could be given a start against Arsenal as Armstrong isn't looking as sharp as he was before his brush with the virus a few weeks back. Salisu is going to have to wait a bit longer I feel before he gets game time, unless he is played in front of the current central defenders. Absolutely no point in disrupting the Bednarek, Vestergaard partnership unless injury intervenes. Change for change sake is rarely a good choice.

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Shakin_Stevens added 00:38 - Dec 15 We all know how important Danny is to us but wrapping him in cotton wool isn't the answer. With bigger teams sniffing around the one thing we can offer him that they can't is regular football. A lot of it comes down to the player himself. If he feels fit and wants to play then he plays. Injuries can happen to anyone at any time. Spells on the sidelines can lead to a loss of sharpness as we saw against Sheffield United. I'd like to see him start every game and take the risk.

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