Southampton boss is urging football fans

Southampton boss Mark Wotte is urging football fans to ignore tonight’s televised Champions League games and instead make their way to St Mary’s to cheer the Saints on in their battle to avoid relegation.

Southampton are currently third from bottom in the Championship table, two points adrift of safety, but a win at home to Derby tonight could take Wotte’s side out of the drop-zone if other results go their way.

“Well, St Mary’s for Southampton against Derby County is much more fun than what is it, Manchester United against Juventus or something? I don’t know, I don’t care,” said Wotte, who side are going in search of three successive home victories.

“We are working for our club and our future and the rest I don’t care about. The fans have been excellent the last couple of weeks. At Birmingham City they were very supportive, at Ipswich there were lots of fans supporting us and St Mary’s was a great place to play in the last two home matches.

“Hopefully they can support us from the first minute and get behind the team. I’m very pleased with the fans at the moment and I’m sure the fans are pleased with the team.”

Norwich City, meanwhile, are another relegation-threatened side in desperate need of a victory and the Canaries face a tough-looking home game against promotion-hopefuls Cardiff tonight.

Manager Bryan Gunn is without defender Jonathan Grounds after he returned to his parent club Middlesbrough after a loan spell so Ryan Bertrand is expected to revert to left-back from midfield.

Mark Fotheringham is fit but has been left out of the squad for the last two games after Gunn admitted he was ‘disappointed’ with the player’s reaction after he was substituted in the recent 2-1 home defeat against Coventry.

Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Blackpool leaves City three points adrift of safety with just nine games remaining and they come up against a Bluebirds outfit that have scored six without conceding in their last two matches.

However, Cardiff boss Dave Jones has some injury worries with Jay Boothroyd, Mark Kennedy, Stephen McPhail and Chris Burke all doubtful for the trip to Carrow Road.

Barnsley boss Simon Davey says the next week could shape the destiny of the club’s season. The Tykes have home games against Birmingham (tonight), Blackpool and Crystal Palace in the space of a week as they look to put some daylight between themselves and the relegation zone.

“We have three matches in a week that will shape our season. Birmingham will come here with an arrogance about them because they are going for promotion but I have to ask whether they have better players than us?,” said Davey.

“The league table says they do but, on any give day, we believe that we can be more than a match for them.”