Saints travel along the South Coast to take on the Seagulls, with even their own supporters not holding out much hope of anything other than yet another defeat where we have been the architects of our own downfall.

Even the national media are starting to realise that something strange is happening down at St Mary's, they are picking up on the fact that Russell Martin is seemingly on a path leading to destruction, one that he seems unable to stop himself from following.

He has backed himself into a corner that he cannot get out of it, with every game and defeat, it seems like it only strengthens his resolve to keep imposing his possession football game, whether he has the squad to be able to play it or not.

Will this be the game where he wakes up and sees the reality of the situation, or will this be another game where we watch his car crash tactics once again cost us points and take another step towards relegation.

Certain players already seem to have been alienated, how an experienced player such as Charlie Taylor is now not even making the squad let alone the bench and others find themselves in and out of the side as the manager desperately searches for a winning formula, one that he won't find on a regular basis unless he adapts his tactics.

The problem now is that injuries are also taking their toll and Aaron Ramsdale & Jan Bednarek will be joined on the injury list by Adam Lallana for this game and Tall Pall Onuauchu could well be another missing.

The players seem to want the manager to succeed, they still seem to be playing for him, the problem is that they know and the whole footballing world knows, that it is not working, the only person that doesn't is the one that matters.

I will travel to Brighton wanting the team to win, wanting us to win and win again and pull out of the bottom four, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see Russell Martin get us out of this situation, but after this game, the season will be over a third of the way though and if was still only have 4 points then something has to change and change fast.

The Liverpool performance shows that our squad isn't as bad as some would have you believe, but it isn't good enough to play along the back as we have tried to do this season, especially when it has been chopped and changed so often.

Can we pull something out of the bag for this one ? the answer is yes, but it needs the players themselves to take the responsibility of their own actions, their instincts are telling them that the way they are playing is not working, but at the moment they are still sticking to the game plan.

If they had gone with their own instincts on Sunday against Liverpool, then the first goal would not have been conceded, Alex McCarthy is an experienced keeper, after weathering the first 30 minutes his instinct would surely have been to take his time and slow the game down, not to roll out the ball to a players being closed down by two opposition players, that was not the way he played under previous managers and not the way he played in the play offs last season, so why did he play that way last weekend, simple answer, he is playing to instruction.

So it needs the squad itself to pull together and work as a team and that means clearing the ball when the situation demands even if the manager has strictly instructed them not to.

In the past Brighton has been a happy hunting ground for Southampton, it is hard to see it being so again on Friday night, however player power may be our only hope.

All Photos Via Reuters

saintmark1976 added 21:20 - Nov 28 Russell Martin isn’t going to change his philosophy because there is no pressure on him to do so. He’s in an enviable position with Sports Republic having given him a new three year contract in the summer. If he is sacked he receives an obscene amount of money, takes a break from football and then picks up another job in The Championship where he was successful last season. Put simply, he’s nothing to lose hence it’s not in his interest to change.

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UgandaSaint added 06:41 - Nov 29 We do stand a chance of winning at Brighton, play a recognised left back, bring in a CB, move Downes into midfield, drop Stephens, play Tall Paul if he's fit, play safe at the back and hoof the ball upfield when under pressure. Simple.
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Centurion added 09:08 - Nov 29 Comfortably numb
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Boris1977 added 09:23 - Nov 29 Spot on Nick your comment copied below and Ugandasaint - fancy a job as there could be a vacancy soon. 'shows that our squad isn't as bad as some would have you believe, but it isn't good enough to play along the back'
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SanMarco added 17:44 - Nov 29 Yes Boris that sentence sums it up well. For me Liverpool proved that under RM we are not even able to take advantage of good sides having an off date. If Brighton play poorly tonight they are still likely too win.
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