Southampton fans had been calling for it throughout most of Mauricio Pellegrino’s reign in charge of the south coast outfit, and Mark Hughes finally implemented it in his first match at the helm against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup last time out.
The Welshman put two strikers in the starting XI in a 4-4-2 formation at the DW Stadium, and the decision to make the change was quickly saluted by the Saints supporters, who had more often that not seen their team be toothless in attack.
Just a week earlier in what was really a must-win clash against fellow strugglers Newcastle United at St James’ Park – the match that saw Pellegrino relieved of his duties – club-record January addition Guido Carrillo started up top on his own in the Argentine boss’ preferred 4-2-3-1 system.
While the former Monaco man struggled to make an impact in the dreadful 3-0 defeat, he was also left isolated in attack with the three attacking midfielders not as close to him as they perhaps should have been – something that was a common theme under both Pellegrino and his predecessor, Claude Puel.
Carrillo would have been happy to see Manolo Gabbiadini in the starting line-up alongside him for the quarter-final clash against the Latics, in order to try and help score his first goal for the club in his ninth appearance.
His Italian strike partner had also found goals hard to come by – netting just four all season – while he had also fallen out of favour under Pellegrino having only made one start since December 16.
Southampton struggled in the first half against Wigan as the League One high-flyers put them under pressure, and it looked as though the visiting players were getting to grips with original ideas in a new formation.
Hughes’ needed a big half-time team talk and he duly delivered, with a far more impressive display after the break – albeit perhaps not so much from the front two.
Gabbiadini should have scored when he was left one-on-one following an unfortunate back-pass, while the 26-year-old won a penalty with his team leading 1-0 but saw his effort brilliantly saved by Christian Walton.
It summed up how things are going for the striker right now but at least he had some memorable moments throughout the game, unlike Carrillo who was replaced by Shane Long in the 81st minute.
Through to a prestigious FA Cup semi-final tie against Chelsea at Wembley next month, Southampton get back to the bread and butter of the Premier League on Saturday with a potentially season-defining clash against fellow strugglers West Ham United at the London Stadium.
Two points from safety with just eight matches remaining and knowing that they can leapfrog the Irons with a victory at the weekend, it is an encounter that could decide their top flight fate one way or the other.
Despite being out of action with a hamstring injury since December, Charlie Austin is still the club’s top goalscorer this term with six goals – two more than anyone else – and he looks set to be available for the trip to east London having returned to training, with Saints fans delighted to see him back following a three-month absence.
With Carrillo failing to make the impact that is required of him so far and with the south coast outfit needing goals, it should be a no-brainer decision to bring Austin, who is rated at £10.8m according to Transfermarkt, in for the Argentine at the London Stadium.
Hughes and the Southampton fans may feel that Gabbiadini deserves to keep his spot in the XI against David Moyes’ men – who have lost three successive Premier League matches by a three-goal margin – but when you’re in a relegation battle you need to make tough decisions.
While the Italian makes good runs and has shown in the past what a good finisher he can be, this West Ham side are under real scrutiny from their supporters now and the players may be nervous after what happened during their 3-0 loss against Burnley last time out.
Hughes will know that if they don’t start well that the London Stadium faithful could quickly become agitated, and there is no doubt that starting Long, who is rated at £7.2m by Transfermarkt, instead of Gabbiadini could prove to be a fruitful decision.
The Republic of Ireland certainly isn’t prolific with just one goal in more than a year, but he will give what is likely to be a make-shift centre-back pairing of international teammate Declan Rice and Angelo Ogbonna real problems with his pace and his ability to close them down when they are on the ball and chase lost causes.
It could be particularly effective with a goalscorer in Austin alongside him, and his unselfish work could allow the former Queens Park Rangers centre-forward to get the goals that Southampton so desperately need.