Former Watford striker Troy Deeney was a pundit as part of Sky Sport’s Championship play-off coverage on Sunday.
The recently retired striker was part of a broadcasting line-up that did not witness a single goal across 180 minutes of football, with Leeds United drawing 0-0 away at Norwich City before West Brom and Southampton played out the same result.
Perhaps that would not have been the case if Southampton striker Ross Stewart had been fit to start, but as it was he managed the last half an hour in what was his longest period on the pitch since joining the Saints for £10 million in the summer.
Stewart has had a torrid time with injuries, with Southampton signing the 27-year-old with an achilles issue before he picked up a hamstring problem after two cameos off the bench in November that kept him out until his return against Leeds on the final day of the season.
The fact Southampton made the decision to spend such a fee on a player who had already been out injured for eight months when he arrived at the club shows just how highly Russell Martin and the club rate the striker.
Despite this, Deeney suggested the Saints should not be tempted to throw the Scotland international in from the start in the second-leg on Friday night.
Ross Stewart not ready to start according to Troy Deeney
21-year-old centre-forward Sekou Mara was a surprise starter at The Hawthorns, with Che Adams not recovering from a muscle strain sustained against Leeds in time to make the first-leg clash.
Mara struggled to make his mark on the game and Southampton looked more threatening when he and Adam Armstrong were replaced along with Ryan Manning on 71 minutes as Southampton changed shape and brought on Stewart, Ryan Fraser and David Brooks.
Not long after entering proceedings, Stewart almost netted with his first shot since joining the club in August. The gangly striker picked up the ball on the left wing before cutting in and striking at goal; the deflection very nearly catching out Alex Palmer who manager to save with a trailing leg.
The former Sunderland striker made an impact, but Deeney insisted the priority is still next season when it comes to Stewart.
When asked whether Southampton should start Stewart on Friday, Deeney responded on Sky Sports: “No, not for me, not for the amount of time he has been out.”
“For him, it’s playing regularly, training, feeling good again, and when you have been out for a long time like most of us have done, it takes you about five or six weeks to get up to speed.”
Deeney added: “For him, it will be just be about being available, trying to add to the next game, and if they get to the final, try to give as much as he can and for as long as he can in that, but it will be about pre-season, making sure his off-season plan is ready, depending on what league they are in, firing and ready to help Southampton.”
Southampton have a real talent in Stewart
The ideal scenario for Southampton is that Adams is fit to return for the second leg at St Mary’s and Stewart can come on later in the game if needed.
If this is not the case then Martin may have to devise another plan from the one he used in the away tie, as Mara and Armstrong failed to threaten at West Brom.
Whilst it may not be from the start, Stewart will be confident he can make an impact in the play-offs.
At 27, the centre-forward is something of a late bloomer, with the Championship the highest level he has played at and having only played 13 games in England’s second tier prior to making the move to Southampton.
In those games, though, Stewart has already shown he is more than capable of scoring goals at this level, netting ten times and providing three assists to give him an average of a goal contribution per game.
His former manager Tony Mowbray spoke on the former Ross County man just over a month before he made the move to the south coast, saying: “All I know is we could do with him. He’s an exceptionally good player in this league and he’s shown that.
“Even though he hasn’t played many games in this league, his goals per game is quite incredible and I know how influential he is in our dressing room even though he’s not fit and available.”
Unfortunately for Stewart and Southampton, he has not been fit and available often enough. Now, though, he has a chance to help fire the club to the Premier League in what would be an incredible story.
