Saints march home against Sunderland

Counsellor, sergeant major, philosopher and occasional football coach; Gordon Strachan is playing something of an everyman role at Southampton - and it is beginning to pay dividends.

With methods ranging from the tree-hugging end of the spectrum - using a sports psychologist and treating players to one-on-one advice sessions - to the more traditional diet of extra training and rare rants, the always entertaining Scot is gradually building a hardy and inventive side.

Having seen the credit for a first win at St Mary's three weeks ago attributed to the blessings of a pagan priestess, Strachan paid tribute to the 'mental strength developer' for this 2-0 victory. He referred to the psychologist only as Amanda, saying she wouldn't want publicity, but in detailing her contribution Strachan offered a telling insight into a modern manager's life.

'I used someone with stress management myself years ago, when I was a player at Manchester United and Leeds,' he said. 'I will do anything that is legal to make players feel better about themselves. It's more complex to look after a team now. They live in a different world.

'We used to be uniform in the way we got disciplined and in the way we got paid.You knew if you got into the reserve team it was £20 extra, getting into the first team meant another £50.

'We are dealing with guys who might have problems with different things. There are a lot of one-on-ones with players. Some are sceptical, but I've asked them to join in for the benefit of the team. 'We all need help sometimes and it's not an easy thing to admit. I've got people I can speak to. They tell me it's become far more difficult to be a manager in the last five years.' Peter Reid would undoubtedly agree, having seen his players perform abjectly again away from home. A Jody Craddock own goal just before half-time and then Marian Pahars's glorious finish from a tight angle sealed their fate. The Sunderland boss declared himself 'sick' over his team's lack of effort and ambition. Maybe he needs a doctor - or a reliable sports psychologist.