Southampton boss drops biggest hint yet about approach for Leeds United with Wembley call made

With nothing to play for beyond an injection of confidence and ending their losing run, there's a real uncertainty about how Southampton will approach Saturday's final game of the regular season at Leeds United. Saints will finish fourth no matter what the result at Elland Road and their play-off path is clear, barring who they will actually face in the two-legged battle to reach Wembley.

With that in mind there are suggestions manager Russell Martin will rest several players in order to ensure his side are as fresh as possible for the knockout games and no further injuries are picked up after a costly few weeks on that front. Then there are those who believe Martin will pick his strongest side with a message to really go for it, with picking up a win vital for momentum and confidence after three successive losses ended any hope of automatic promotion.

In his most recent interview, Martin's response to the question about momentum and Southampton's need for a win, may just have given the biggest indication yet of how seriously he wants to win the game on Saturday and how his team selection may go. Martin has rubbished claims momentum is crucial for the play-offs, painting the picture that the play-offs are a different competition with the onus on who turns up on the day, with what has gone before meaningless.

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Read into that what you will, but it doesn't appear the Southampton manager is putting his stock in his side needing to win on Saturday against Leeds, and that may just feed into his team selection when it comes to resting several of his key men, perhaps making the test easier for Leeds.

Here's what Martin had to say; "I'm not sure how relevant it is," Martin explained when asked about form and momentum. "People talk about momentum and all that stuff, honestly, I've been involved in it as a player, it's different.

"It's a two-game cup competition and then, to get to Wembley, that's a complete one-off tie. Of course, you want to go into the playoffs with a nice feeling but I think ultimately it's about who is the bravest team on the day. It's about who has such a clear game plan and will stick to that and has done their work. That's what it will come down to.

"Momentum will not be completely separate, I really believe that teams who finish third or fourth and overcome that disappointment will end up winning it most years. When it comes down to that first and second playoff game, it's about who can hold their nerve the best and who can stick to what they've done all season. It's about who can handle the occasion. That's not about what's gone on previously, so yeah, it's going to be exciting."