With Saints riding high in 4th spot heading into 2015, can they repeat the first half of the season and hold on to that 4th spot come the end of the season.

They say that it is the festive season that really sorts out the wheat from the chaf for the second half of the season and so far Saints have come through 2/3 of it looking good, however the second half will be much tougher than the first so do Saints have the resources to keep going till May.

Of course it won't be easy but there are several reasons why I believe there is no reason why Saints should not be able to have a successful second half of 2014/15 season, however before we look at the reasons why we have to consider the reasons why it wont happen for us.

At the start of December I was more confident in some way that we could challenge for that Champions League place, my main reasoning was that the usual suspects were falling behind the pack, I said at the start of the season and i still maintain it, that the 7 clubs that finished ahead of us last season are the ones we need to stay ahead of this, Im confident that we can outgun the likes of West Ham and Swansea, but the top 7 have mainly been the same for the last 5 years or more and their is a good reason behind that.

Four weeks and seven games ago we were in 2nd place, Chelsea were above us and man City two points behind, but the rest of the pack of usual suspects werelagging, Man Utd were 7 points adrift of us, Arsenal 9 along with Everton and Spurs with Liverpool a whopping 12 points away from us.

Things looked rosy, but over those seven games suddenly the big guns have stirred, Everton apart, all of them have made up ground and Liverpool whom we have spend several months along with the rest of the country sneering at and claiming they are finished have come up fast on the rails to within 5 points of us.

The situation is very clear, the pecking order is starting to be re established, we have to make sure we can fight them off.

So what makes me think that we can do so ?

Firstly there is the fact that we have come through a difficult spell and still sit in fourth, although no one can predict what injuries or suspensions we might have in the second half, the fact is we should be far stronger as a squad to cope with them, we already have one loan signing in the bag and there could be more to follow, plus there is the returning Jack Cork and Jay Rodriguez from injury, add to that the youngsters who have stepped up to the plate in recent weeks and as a squad we should be better able to cope than before.

Jay Rodriguez may still be a month or two from returning, but when he does it could be a burst of fire power at the right time that could help us surge forward.

Secondly there is the versatility of the squad, although it is small in comparison than most of our rivals for the top four, that can be an advantage, sometimes as was shown against Chelsea Ronald Koeman has to mix and match and that can work when you have a strong sqaud spirit with most of the players in contention for a place, rather as some clubs have, a shadow squad almost of disinterested players alienated by the manager, so when they are called upon they dont have that motivation.

Another big factor for us could be the fixture list, by the start of February we will have played 12 of the 18 games against the current top ten sides and of the remaining 6, Swansea, Liverpool, West Ham & Spurs are all at home, these latter three clubs are those we have to knock out of the picture to overcome the first hurdle and that is aiming for a top five finish.

So the trick is a good January starting with Arsenal, hope for something at Old Trafford and then beat Newcastle who seem to be heading for disarray, do so and we go into February with everything in our own hands

But perhaps the most crucial thing is what we do in the January Transfer window, I have already touched on this briefly, but the reality is that we have more buying power than most of our rivals and this could be crucial, now i don't see us spending that much in January for several reasons, however i do see us using the loan market well and this could be what makes the difference.

Ronald Koeman is a sly old fox in that he is very good at not revealing his hand, back in August he stated on more than one occasion that signing Toby Alderweireld was not feasible, however he got on with it quietly and made it happen, Im sure he would have preferred for it to be permanent, but he knew that you have to not only build a squad of permanent players but you also have to use the loan system to your advantage where and when neccessary, perhaps we won't get Toby on a permanent basis, but surely it is better to have had him for this one year than not at all.

This is why I expect Koeman to make the odd loan signing or two, key players in key positions that can enhance the squad at a key time.

From this point of view we have an advantage over bigger clubs than us and it could be something we can use to good effect.

So the answer to the question posed in the title of this article is very much yes we can repeat the first half of the season, but that won't be the problem, that is that the likes of Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal are capable of surpassing their first halves and we have to make sure that they don't or at leas that if they do we do enough to make sure that it is not good enough to overhaul us.

If we do keep them all at bay then it will perhaps be described as one of the biggest upsets in Premier league history if little Southampton could get in the Champions League, that so few clubs have managed to break the monopoly at the top especially in the last decade is a measure of what we are up against.

Photo: Action Images

davepid added 17:34 - Dec 30 Nic I agree there are reasons to be cheerful for the rest of the season.in addition to the plus points you make I would add. 1. We've been unlucky and against Man Utd, Spurs, Liverpool and arsenal we could have easily had 4 more points possibly 6. 2. None of our victories were based on undue luck.( except maybe Forster not getting sent off against Sunderland). 3. One of our challengers is Spurs and we know that their manager is one dimensional ,making them more vulnerable to injury/ suspension set backs. 4. In addition to the new players coming in or back from injury, we see Long getting better each game and also, I feel, Yoshida and Gardos. So if we double our points tally then we should finish 5/6 th, I reckon.

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