Leeds United rivals have tried and tested play-off weapon to help secure promotion

Southampton boss Russell Martin believes the return of Ross Stewart could be extremely timely as they prepare for the Championship play-offs. The Saints finished the regular season in fourth and that means they have a two-legged semi-final against West Bromwich Albion to look forward to over the next few days.

Southampton will travel to The Hawthorns for the first leg on Sunday before hosting the return clash next week when they'll hope to seal their place at Wembley Stadium for the play-off final. The pressure is well and truly on then, as Martin looks to lead the south coast outfit back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

They go into the play-offs with a degree of confidence having beaten Leeds United on Saturday, but that was their first win in four league outings and Martin will know his side will have to make improvements to find consistency this month. He'll be hoping the return of Stewart, who joined Southampton from Sunderland for £10m but has made just three appearances due to injury, will help his side to do that.

The striker arrived at Southampton with an Achilles issue and he made just two appearances before picking up the hamstring issue that would rule him out until last Saturday's outing at Elland Road. He only played seven minutes against the Whites, but the manager is tipping him to have a huge role to play this month.

“He could be a really important player for us in the next three games," Martin said. "He can have a big impact and he’s just desperate to be on the pitch. He’s had such a tough time. I feel so sorry for him because he’s such a good guy and such a good pro. But now he has a chance to really impact our season at the most important time and I think he will.”

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He added: "When we played against Stoke last Saturday, he was with us for an hour and ten minutes that morning, training like a beast and getting worked. The whole session was built around him doing everything he needs to do in a game for as long as he possibly could.

“He’s really good and he’s really open to everything. He’s just desperate to be on the pitch and now it’s about keeping him ready and upping it again this week. But we need to do that to the point where we know he is as controlled as he can be and stays fit.”

Stewart has a history of excelling under the pressure of the play-offs and during the 2021-22 season, he scored twice, including an effort at Wembley, to help Sunderland win promotion from League One. He also scored three times as Alloa Athletic secured promotion through the play-offs to the Scottish Championship in 2018.