Saints fan targets play-offs with Blues (From Romsey Advertiser)

Saints fan targets play-offs with Blues

10:42am Friday 30th March 2012 in Sport

Birmingham winger Wade Elliott hopes his current club can match the late season run which saw him fire Burnley into the Premier League in 2009.

Southampton-born Elliott, who grew up supporting Saints, was with Burnley when they gained promotion from the Championship via the play-offs and is looking to repeat that feat with Blues.

Although Elliott does not see games at this time of the season as more important than those earlier in the campaign, he knows a strong run, starting with tonight's game at Doncaster, would help Blues with their promotion play-off challenge.

At the end of the 2008/2009 season the Clarets lost just one of their last 11 games and went up via the play-offs, Elliott scoring the winning goal in the final against Sheffield United.

"When I was at Burnley we had a really good run towards the back end of the season," Elliott told the Birmingham Mail.

"I wouldn't say it's a more important time of the year because the points that you gain now are worth the same as the ones you gain in August or September.

"But obviously the pressure builds and builds and they almost become bigger games because there is less margin for error. If you drop points now there is less time to make it up."

Manager Chris Hughton will be relieved to have left-back David Murphy available following his dismissal for two yellow cards in the 4-1 defeat at Portsmouth which forced him to miss the Cardiff game.

With injuries to Stephen Carr (knee) and Jonathan Spector (thigh), Hughton was forced to play Peter Ramage at left-back and Pablo Ibanez at right-back against Cardiff.

If midfielder Keith Fahey continues to be ruled out through injury, Elliott and on-loan Andros Townsend will be in contention to play.

Doncaster manager Dean Saunders hopes his struggling side can turn recent good performances into points.

He told the club website: "We are getting a lot of plaudits for the way we are playing - but I'd sooner have the points.

"I know that we can play well but what matters is what happens in both boxes."

Saunders could be without injured defenders Shelton Martis (calf) and Pascal Chimbonda (hamstring).

Championship leaders Southampton are away at Blackpool tomorrow, with second placed Reading visiting West Ham who are in third.

Brighton, who are fourth, are at home to Middlesbrough in fifth while play-off contenders Cardiff and Hull are at home to struggling Coventry and Millwall respectively.

The other fixtures see Bristol City play Derby, Crystal Palace take on Nottingham Forest, Ipswich face Barnsley, Leeds are at home to Watford, Peterborough entertain Leicester and Portsmouth take on Burnley.