Southampton FA Cup glory will be terrific – but also too little, too late for Mark Hughes’ Prem League losers
The sad fact is that even if Saints beat Chelsea today it is surely too little too late to rescue themselves from relegation
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MARK HUGHES knows from first-hand experience how Wembley heroics can save a team’s season.
But even if Hughes can mastermind an unlikely FA Cup semi-final victory over old club Chelsea today, it is surely too little too late to rescue Southampton from relegation.
Hughes has been waxing lyrical in the build-up to the game about how his extra time wonder goal in Manchester United’s 1994 semi with Oldham changed the course of history.
Alex Ferguson’s men were on the verge of a humiliating defeat before Hughes crashed in a thunderous volley and they went on to win the club’s first Premier League and cup double.
Hughes is hoping one of his Southampton flops can raise themselves from a season of slumber to etch their own name in Wembley folklore.
If that does happen and Saints reach their first FA Cup final since 2003 it will only add insult to injury for a frustrated fan base.
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How can a team with only five league wins – two of them against bottom club West Bromwich - find top form against Chelsea, but can barely muster a shot on goal in a must-win game against a Leicester side already on the beach four days earlier?
It has been the story of the season. An embarrassing December defeat at Spurs apart, the south coast side have saved their best performances for clashes with the fabled big six.
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That is why dropping into the Championship will hurt even more for their loyal followers, who have become hardened to relegation scraps from their annual flirtations with the drop in the 1990s.
The truth is the teams the great Matt Le Tessier kept dragging to safety virtually on his own were nowhere near as talented as the bunch Hughes has to pick from.
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Top pundits IAN WRIGHT and DANNY HIGGINBOTHAM have made their picks for this week if you need a steer.
And remember, you can claim a free £30 bet with Sun Bets when you sign up put a tenner on this weekend's football .
On peak form Ryan Bertrand, Cedric Soares, Oriol Romeu, Dusan Tadic and Charlie Austin, to name just five, would walk into most Premier League teams.
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But due to a combination of poor management from the boardroom down, reckless recruitment and a stinking attitude those talented individuals are taking the team down.
If they bring their A-game to north London, Saints could well produce an upset.
But will it really mean much in the grand scheme of things?