Before Xmas Saints fans were demanding new signings, but did the run of great results mean that we put the money away and if so is that just a temporary measure.

As we headed towards December we thought that even if we spent big in the transfer window then we would be far from certain of staying up, then Ralph Hasenhuttl transformed the team and suddenly we arrived in January and found ourselves well clear of relegation.

Indeed after beating Crystal Palace and being 9th in the table with perhaps as little as two more wins in the remaining 14 games, I am sure that the club themselves had a big decision to make, do they spend in January when the market prices are over inflated or do they wait till the summer when they can have a better choice and not so expensive.

The mistakes of a couple of years ago when we panic bought Guido Carrillo would have brought a cautionary note as would the fact that we already had four signings of the past couple of years out on loan with a total transfer cost of around £60 million down the drain.

The money wasted since Ronald Koeman left in 2016 has been disgraceful and we have paid the price for that both in terms of the transfer fees but the wages, realistically a club of our size could not take a hit that size with such a big part of the transfer budget blown.

So I think once we hit that 20 point mark with the winning post well in sight, the thoughts were going to turn to next season rather than this.

I still think that this was a little short sighted in that if we brought in Kyle Walker Peters on loan then we could have done the same for a central defender, perhaps they did try but couldn't get the man they wanted, we will perhaps never know as just because we didn't make a signing does not mean we didn't try.

But the end result once the window closed is we shifted more than we brought in with the only signing of note being the aforementioned KWP from Spurs and alongside him a academy player from Chelsea whom it was made quite clear it was purely for the academy nothing else.

Going the other way Cedric Soares and Maya Yoshida went out on loan and this perhaps confirmed that it is next season in our sights and not this, both are out of contract in the summer, so although they are still officially our players, they will not return to the club aside to perhaps pick up any stuff left at the training ground and collect their boots.

Kayne Ramsey also went to Shrewsbury but at 19 and only two first team appearances to his name in all competitions he will not affect the First team.

This means we have an entire team of players out on loan at the moment with 11 of our squad on loan, although in fairness that does include two of the Academy keepers.

This is not a problem we still have a big enough squad and we know that Ralph Hasenhuttl likes to work with a compact group of players and only really makes big changes for the cup games.

But we are taking a gamble that we can win twice or three to be sure and although that looks a simple task it should be remembered that Swansea City went into meltdown a couple of years ago when they looked more than safe, however they took 30 games to get to 31 points and then only got 2 more points in the remaining 8 games to go down on 33.

But I think that we are well capable of getting the points on the board and that we need to do so as quickly as possible now and if we do that then perhaps we can look upwards and even a top 10 position.

Certainly now we have Liverpool out of the way the only truly tough game left for us is Manchester City at home and they seem to be already concentrating on other areas knowing that they can finish 2nd without breaking sweat.

So this was a transfer window where the priorities changed dramatically, yes we would all rather have seen a player or two more brought in, but then again we want to bring in the right personnel not a panic buy.

We are a better squad than last year and even with Cedric and Yoshida gone we are no worse than at any other time this season, indeed Kyle Walker Peters might just strengthen us .

The key is what we do next, firstly that has to be to win a few games of football and then it has to be about getting in the key central defenders we need, the club has shown that they are looking to do that with the departure of Yoshida, they are looking at making sure that whoever plays for us next year is part of the solution, part of the future and that means making this squad truly Ralph Hasenhuttl's and not Puel's, Pellegrino's and Hughes's or even Les Reed's

Photo: Action Images

underweststand added 14:34 - Feb 5 P.S. to davidargyll....YES perfectly correct. One have to consider that clubs at our level (Prem.) had financial restrictions placed on them which they must not overstep..or else be fined . Many clubs are paying out 70% of their income on staff salaries (and that means (average) around £3 million a year) for first teamers without back-up staff and Academy personnel/players. We spent three years buying badly and now we are paying the cost, and we all know the list who are out on loan and many of them still have 2-3 years left on long contracts. Ill-advised investment in usuitable players / managers must be avoided ..and be warned as example Everton - who recently posted last season's loss of .....- £111 million. That's a whole year's income from the Prem. OUCH !

0

Rochdale Polls