MIND GAME

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

Taking things one match at a time is one of the oldest truisms in football but it is always intriguing to look ahead a little.

We had a bad result against Southampton, but it is gone. We will be saved from beating ourselves up too much over it by the benefit of a short break to the next game and while drawing lessons from Saturday we do not need to suffer a crisis of confidence or generalte a stifling climate of fear.

Many of us have suggested changing the team. Lambert will not panic and he will know he is likely to put pressure on himself if he chops and changes too much as you can only do so a limited number of times. It will be interesting to see how he handles it. He has done more than enough to have his decisions respected, we all like to play pundit but the manager and his coaching team deserve to feel backed by the fans.

So the mental approach is vital going into Tuesday night''s game and those beyond and this is why I believe it to be so:

What we saw on Saturday was a Southampton team who, even if they were given their 10 points back have performed significantly less well than us over the season. We are top but they are fighting for the play offs and know to have any chance they had to go for it....and they did. They were more up for it than we were and that gave them the edge. It will be interesting to see if they are capable of consistency or whether they raised their game for one match against the leaders in front of a big crowd?

Desperation can drive teams on in a league short on genuine quality and for those teams with inspirational players fear can lose them their edge. This factor has affected Leeds and Charlton and it has driven on the likes of Colchester and Swindon.

The top five teams all next play home, away and home against teams each should beat in the upcoming three matches. If it were simply played on paper all would be 9 points better off but that will not happen. It will not happen because of free radical factors such as crowd tension; individual errors; lack of consistency; over-expectation and so on. The two teams most at risk of these influences are Leeds and Norwich City.

But, I honestly believe any team averaging two points a game over the season will get promoted and we should be happy we have exceeded that target and sit where we are.

If, heaven forbid, we lose on Tuesday night and the four below us win; the top of the league will get very tight and the pressure will mount. Likewise, if we win we should not be surprised to see the status quo maintained by the others winning too. This should not matter because the main thing will be to bounce back with a win and chalk one more win off the nine we need.

What is important, above all else it that we do not self-destruct. Crowd tension will spill down to the players and we will simply ''do a Leeds/Wolves.''

We have to believe in our manager, his coaches and the players and we have to believe we are consistent enough to go the distance and Saturday was just a one off.

I know there has been plenty of banter about changing the formation and resting some players, I''ve made suggestions too but that is all it is. We are where we are and have to go with what we''ve got. It is imperative we get promoted this season and the supporters do have a role in allowing their players to perform in the best environment and one conducive to them playing with confidence.

Three wins or two wins and a draw will most likely see us remaining top. A win on Tuesday will set us up for this and three straight wins will put us in a strong position before those the present top five have some collectively more testing games.

We''ve had a moan, now let''s hold our nerve. (Those who booed the team Saturday had lost theirs).

As for the players: I hope they zip it and let their football do the talking. There has been too much petulance from some.

I hope Tuesday''s game is played in an atmosphere of positivity and determination. And with the benefit of Saturday teaching us to take nothing for granted.

On The Ball City.

[morty 0]

You post a lot of shite, like a lot of us are prone to do, but that is a very good post, I tip my hat to you sir.

[gazzathegreat 0]

How much do you charge by the hour to lie on your couch Rude Old....

Good summary. And no hysterics. You will go far!

[John 0]

Good post mate, and i hope Norwich City fans adhere to your words of wisdom. [Y]

[Lambert is King 0]

I agree with this very good post. I would like to add that should we change to 442 this will be a sign that we are in desperate trouble as Lambert stated when he came here we have no pace and the lads need help. The only real addition based on this was McNamee. We tend to forget that up until the Orient game when with 25 minutes left and 0 - 0 we introduced the diamond for the first time - by luck or judgement. Up until that moment we had played 10 games and managed 10 points.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

Gazza, you can lie on my couch but not with that hairy mutt of yours!

It looks from other posts as if the hysteria is dying down a bit. Having another game straight away is a real bonus.