NIGE WATCH 6

Oh, dear. Nige isn`t happy. "We were awful. No excuses. If we play like that again, we`ll get relegated," was his verdict following the 5-0 drubbing at Hull on Saturday.

He had the players in for extra training yesterday morning, apparently, but my informant tells me that he was mindful of leaving them in Hull to make their own way back to Southampton. Not sure I could ever bring myself to abandon anyone in Hull. Well, John Prescott maybe....and the lovely Pauline....and the Housemartins. Oh, and the Beautiful South.

On a positive note, however, this was Nigel`s first defeat in six games, so there`s hope for a strong reaction in the build up to the nine-pointer against Chris Coleman`s Coventry City on Saturday. Isn`t there?