I’m sure all football loving Saddlers’ fans will be genuinely pleased that Brian Robson’s Albion have performed their Great Escape this afternoon, but what might this mean for Walsall?

The flip side of this is, of course, that the position of Andrew Surman, one of the stars of the Saddlers’ run in, is in some doubt, following the relegation of Southampton.

Of all the clubs involved in the last day drama, Southampton, with over 20 years in the top flight, were the least equipped to go down. It means that they will have to reduce the size of their squad to cope with the lower resources in the Championship and may well need the services of our impressive loanee.

Harry Redknapp had a poor record at Portsmouth at bringing the kids through, which was one of the causes of his rift with Milan Mandaric, so this might mean chances for Surman are lower , even in the Championship. However, it has to be said that the position of Redknapp cannot be certain now, as he may not want to face another fight to get out of the second tier.

Paul Merson may have to start planning on looking for another young, dynamic attacking midfielder, as Surman might well be needed on the South Coast.