Alan Pardew has called on the St Mary's crowd to do their bit tonight.

Saints need a partizan crowd behind them tonight as they take on Oldham Athletic, the worry is that after the excitement of Bristol Rovers and Yeovil that both the players and the supporters will look on this game as an easy win, however the manager knows that these are the sort of games that can blow up in your face and seems determined that this wont happen.

Of course he willdo his bit in the dressing room, but he has also asked Saints supporters to help the cause by turning up in both numbers and vocally, to raise the roof and create an intimidating atmosphere that the lancashire club usually used to playing in front of barely 3,500 in their three sided ground wont be able to live in.

Noise wise it is a given, SMS has been as loud as any ground in this division and no other team has not only a core area of vocal support as big as the Northam, but the benefit of the other three sides also chipping in.

But those empty seats need to be filled, the average attendance of 21,001 should if their is any justice be exceeded tonight, although that will be difficult given that their will be only a handful of away fans.

Saints have shown they have potential with 50,000 fans at Wembley and full houses for Exeter & Leeds in the league, but these mean nothing if promotion chances are blown in front of 18,000 against Oldham, after seven wins in the last nine games the team have hauled themselves off the floor and kept play off hopes alive, tonight they deserve to run out to the gratitude of more than just the 19,000 die hards, they need to see the reason why they have kept fighting, they need to see that the fans will not give up till its mathematically impossible, the one thing they do not need to see are too many empty seats, something that could demotivate them before they kick a ball.

Yes some will say its me on my high horse again, but I am only echoing the thoughts of Alan Pardew, if we as fans want promotion lets show the players, or should we not turn up and send them the message that its OK not to bother to turn up as we will go up next season, the players have done their bit over the last nine games, surely its time for those supporters who went to Wembley, went to the big games to show the same commitmentof the players in our final three home games.     

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