Saints came away from Fulham with a point and were mainly comfortable, but there was a feeling that we were below par and not firing on all cylinders, we really should have won this game.
There were a few questions asked about the depth of Saints squad as they travelled to West London to take on relegation strugglers Fulham, could they fill the gaps of those out injured and suspended.
The answer was yes, but there was a feeling that we were not firing on all cylinders and this was a game that we really should have won.
Early on Saints struggled to get the ball, pass it and keep it, too often we gave it away and were second in every challenge as the home side started with a bluster and a conviction that this was a game that they could win.
Fulham could have taken the lead when they pulled the ball back only for a complete air shot by one of their players saw the chance wasted, having weathered the storm we started to get back into the game and Ibrahima Diallo looked comfortable in the midfield.
A great free kick from JWP almost gave us the lead, but a combination of the Keepers fingertips and the bar kept it out, Che Adams looked to have an easy tap in as the ball dropped, but there was a nasty spin on it that took it away from him.
We dominated the second half in terms of possession, but we still had some dodgy moments at the back , not least when we left Cavaleiro completely unmarked 8 yards out, luckily he put his header well wide when it was easier to score.
Going forward we created little though, Long and Adams battled gainfully but too often were isolated, Theo Walcott made some good surging runs, but he seemed to lose control at vital moments too often.
We looked to have scored twice, both initially given but ruled out for offside by Var, both decisions were correct, the first saw Shane Long clearly off, the second was marginal, but not so marginal you could argue with it.
A shame as both goals were great moves ending with clinical finishing, something that was otherwise missing from both sides in the rest of the game.
From a Saints point of view it was good to keep a clean sheet, but this was really a game that we should have won if we are to keep up our hopes of a finish in the higher echelons of the Premier League.
It showed us that we are still a work in progress, the clean sheet should not gloss over the fact that we missed Jannik Vestergaard at the back, not just for his defensive capabilities, but his build up play and presence at corners and set pieces going forward.
We missed a little bit of creativity going forward, Nathan Redmond might well have changed the game with his use of the ball, too often both Stuart Armstrong and Theo Walcott went into dead ends surging forward.
Up front we missed Danny Ings, one man doesn't make a team, we still looked comfortable without him, but we were just that, comfortable but without the spark that Ings brings to the side.
Perhaps this game showed us that our realistic target is going to be more about challenging for 7th, but even that will be a tall order, five of the Big Six are slowly but surely rising into the top positions and Leicester Aston Villa and Everton, have done what we have failed to have done of late and that is put to bed wins against the likes of Wolves, Arsenal and Fulham.
But we are still in the chase, still only 4 points behind Everton in 2nd and the season is wide open, but the truth is we need to start putting together a run of wins again and quickly.
I don't want to end on a sour note, after all this time last year, indeed the start of this season, we would have been delighted to have been in 9th place after the Xmas programme, but we need to beat West Ham now and create a gap between 9th and 10th, then we can start looking upwards again.