There is still plenty for us to play for this season so we shouldn’t be seeing our players appearing as if they are already on the beach. There will be some playing for new contracts and some playing for a place in Graham Potter’s squad for next season, and also for a place in their international sides. For those in their national teams, the games will be coming thick and fast but for everyone, there needs to be personal pride right up to the end of the season.
The Financial Stakes of a Strong Finish
The higher up in the league that you get, the more money the club gets and Potter will be mindful of this because a run up the table could equate to millions of extra pounds coming into the club. The league is that tight that we could put a run together and end up in mid table so I’m sure the remit for the lads between now and the end of the season is to chase the teams above.
It looks unlikely now that we will get dragged into a relegation scrap because it looks like the bottom three or four clubs will be battling it out unless one of them comes up with an unbelievable run but I can’t see that happening, can you? We easily saw off Leicester who were extremely poor and if we did end up below them, some serious questions will need to be asked. It really is tough for those sides coming up from the Championship and it seems now that there are a few clubs yo-yoing.
Lessons from Forest and the Top Six Hopes
At the other end of the table and it’s great to see Forest still in the Champions League places. Every weekend is going to be huge for them now because they have Chelsea, Man City and Newcastle chasing them but if they can keep going as they have been, there’s no reason why they can’t make the top four come May. I’m sure Potter and the squad will be looking at what the likes of Forest and Bournemouth have done this season and be thinking to themselves that’s where we need to be next season.
Now, of course, this season we’ve had a number of the so-called bigger sides who haven’t performed that well and we’ve got to hope that maybe this is repeated again next season so we’ve got a chance of breaking into that top six.
The Defensive Foundation and Hammer of the Year Contenders
If we’re going to do this, we’re going to need to improve defensively and since Potter has been here, we do look stronger at the back, particularly on that right hand side. I’ve been critical of Aaron Wan-Bissaka at times this season but now it feels like he knows what he needs to do. And actually, with how the season has panned out, I think Aaron must be the favourite to get Hammer of the Year, mainly down to the sheer number of games he has played and impacted.
Bowen will get mentioned but he was out injured a fair amount, and I’m sure Kilman will be in the mix too. Kudus hasn’t played as well as he’d have liked and the two goalkeepers have changed over a few times so I’m not sure they will be in it. But both keepers have done well this season, helping to provide us with a good base.
Consistent Performers and the Road Ahead
The main thing for us now is to build on what we’ve got and get through to the end of the season playing reasonably well and getting consistent performances. One player who has been playing consistently well has been James Ward-Prowse and it really does show that football is all about opinions. He goes to Forest and doesn’t get a game and now he is a regular for us. I always say that players don’t change overnight so I haven’t been surprised to see him playing decent for us.
And it was good to see Antonio at the Leicester game. He looked well and you just hope that he is continuing to heal well and will remain healthy. Will he be in the mix next season? We’ll need to wait and see but for now, I’m sure Potter is having a look at all the squad and deciding who he wants to stay next season and which positions he wants to strength when the summer transfer window opens.
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