Southampton fans travelling to Elland Road on Saturday could be about to witness a moment 161 days in the making.
The club’s followers may be struggling to look forward to this final day clash given they have nothing to play for and their opponents could get promoted on the day.
That is unlikely, though, given Leeds need to win and hope that Ipswich Town lose at home to already relegated Huddersfield Town.
Russell Martin needs to make a decision on whether to play his fringe players in order to protect his first-choice side for the play-offs or try and go into those games on the back of a positive result.
The Southampton faithful will travel in their thousands like they have done all season and those that do make the trip could be rewarded with a special moment.
Ross Stewart could feature against Leeds
Martin has confirmed that summer signing Ross Stewart will be in the squad that travels to Leeds.
The man the club signed for a fee rising to £10 million arrived at the Saints with an achilles injury and did not make his debut until November, coming off the bench in the 83rd minute of a home win over West Brom.
The former Sunderland striker would follow up that cameo with another against Huddersfield in Southampton’s next game, but a hamstring injury sustained in that game means he has not played since.
Therefore, 17 minutes of football is all Southampton have to show for their marquee summer signing.
Stewart could give Southampton boost ahead of play-offs
With Southampton losing their last three games in a row, including a 5-0 defeat to Leicester City, there has been a lot of negativity surrounding the club recently.
Stewart’s return could give the Saints a much-needed dose of positivity ahead of the play-offs.
Martin confirmed the intention being for the Scotland international to make the squad against Leeds when speaking to the media last week.
The Saints boss said: “Yeah, all being well, Ross will be on the bench next week against Leeds.
“Hopefully, fingers crossed, he’s come through training really nicely. He’ll have a big session in the morning and then have Sunday to recover.
“He will then be fully with the squad next week. So, all being well, we look forward to having Ross in the squad.”
How much of an impact 27-year-old will be able to have remains to be seen, but a meaningful contribution would be the perfect ending to a frustrating campaign for Stewart.
