Southampton are gearing up for the crucial second leg of their play-off semi-final against West Brom on Friday night.
The tie is finely balanced, with the two teams drawing 0-0 at The Hawthorns on Sunday in a game that was short on excitement but high on tension.
Southampton defended well to preserve their clean sheet and are arguably favourites now as they have the advantage of being at home for the second leg.
A packed St Mary’s will be in full voice as they cheer their team onto what they will hope will be a Wembley final and Taylor Harwood-Bellis has been speaking on the importance of the fans.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis on ‘excellent’ Southampton fans
Harwood-Bellis has had a fine season on loan at Southampton and has fast-become a fan favourite despite the fact he may only be at the club until the summer.
However, there is a chance that the Saints will continue to see the 22-year-old in their colours, as the loan deal with Manchester City includes an obligation to buy the player for £20 million should Southampton be promoted.
With that in mind, you could argue that no Southampton player has more riding on the play-offs than Harwood-Bellis and the defender has been speaking to BBC Radio Solent sport editor Adam Blackmore on how the fans can be the difference against West Brom.
There are plans afoot for a number of Saints supporters to meet at St Mary’s at 6pm – two hours prior to kick-off – to welcome the players as they arrive via coach and show the team their support ahead of the clash.
In an interview posted on BBC Sounds, Harwood-Bellis explained the impact this has on the players as he said: “It helps more than people think it does.”
“You’re going into the stadium on a coach, you’re already excited for the game and then you see the fans obviously right behind you and the atmosphere is good going out to games, it helps a hell of a lot.
“The fans have been excellent all season but just to bring that extra few percent of noise and kind of hostility would be unreal and would help us a lot.”
Southampton have transformed St Mary’s atmosphere
St Mary’s Stadium has been a toxic environment at times over the past few seasons, mainly owing to the poor record Southampton had at home as they struggled to stay in the Premier League.
That came to a head last season, with the Saints winning just two league games at home in a miserable season that saw them finish bottom of the league and subsequently drop down to the Championship.
However, St Mary’s has been revitalised this season thanks to the results of the side as well as the efforts manager Russell Martin and his players have made to mend the fractured relationship between fans and the team.
Southampton should be really confident ahead of welcoming the Baggies to their home ground on Friday, having won 15 of their 23 league games at their stadium this campaign, drawing three and losing five.
They have also beaten West Brom at home, triumphing 2-1 in November thanks to goals from Will Smallbone and Adam Armstrong.
St Mary’s has become an increasingly positive place this season and a play-off semi-final win on Friday night would likely result in one of the best atmospheres at the stadium in recent memory.