Southampton 1 v Charlton Athletic 0

Not the result we were hoping for (obviously), but probably the one most of us were expecting. It was a tight game and Nicky Bailey had three chances to break the Charlton deadlock but floundered on another Kelvin Davis super-show. We had a real go in the last ten minutes as Darren Randolph joined  a string of corners but it wasn't to be and I found myself in wholehearted agreement with the match commentator on CAFC Player, who said "if only they had shown more ambition earlier on." 

Ambition has been a bit of problem throughout the season at times but I think it's been more a case of playing to our strengths and a reflection of trying to get results with limited striking options for most of the year. In the final analysis, that's what threatens to let us down. Our strikers simply haven't scored anywhere near enough for a side expecting to win promotion. The fact that Deon Burton over-performed early on and that we scored plenty from midfield when playing 4-5-1 in the first half of the season lulled us all into a false sense of optimism, but that has been cruelly exposed in the last few months.

As anticipated, other results have largely gone against us today with Millwall, Leeds and Colchester all winning at home. That means Swindon were beaten and it was good to see Huddersfield come a cropper at Brentford. Leeds and Millwall both face two away games now, so it's not over yet but Millwall are playing with confidence and belief and Leeds may have recovered from their prolonged stumble. 

Colchester now becomes a bigger game than Norwich because it's about securing a play-off spot as opposed to winning automatic promotion. I can't see us being caught by both Huddersfield and Colchester and I expect us to beat the U's on Tuesday night. 

How we finish mentally will be key to the play-offs. A few weeks ago we were contemplating arriving in a dispirited state-of-mind and joining three other sides who were simply glad to have made it. The way it's panning out, we may well find our mood is at least as good as two of the others who will be disappointed they blew it, and a fourth who have struggled to make it at all. Whilst I have little confidence we can make second-place, I am beginning to feel much more confident about our pay-off hopes but we need a boost upfront. Maybe we will get a rejuvenated Deon Burton back before the finish and he can provide a swansong to his career?