Saints are ten points off what I feel will be the safety target for the season and that could see us needing as little as two wins from our final dozen games.

Saints win against Manchester City was a big win, but we shouldnt allow it to blur our vision and shift our focus from our target for the season and that is staying up with games to spare, to do this we need to get over and above 37 points as quickly as possible and that means getting another ten points on the table.

This doesnt sount too hard when you think about it, but you then have to look what we have done so far this season and quantify it, its a very doable target but plen ty of teams have blown it from our position and complacency could be our biggest enemy, perhaps not in the squad but certainly in the fans where some now see us looking at a top ten finish judging by message boards I have seen.

Ultimately I think that is a step too far for this season, last season Fulham were 9th with 52 points and West Brom just behind them on 47, to get that number we would be looking at five wins minimum plus four draws leaving margin of error for only 3 defeats, thats a very hefty task for any team let alone our good selves.

So we need to remain focussed on what our task for this season is and that is to stay in the Premier League as mentioned that might need as little as two wins if they are against the right teams aligned with a number of draws.

But one point to consider in getting these wins is that of our last 12 games, 9 of them are against teams above us, and when you consider that in todays league table we have only beaten one team all season from those we are behind, that being City on Saturday, the task is far from easy to get those ten points, we need to be focused and playing to our strengths.

The first job is to get over the 30 point mark and be in the home straight with the finishing line in sight, if we do that then the job will be a lot easier, only a few weeks ago certain teams looked out of sight from us after a couple of wins, now we have reeled the likes of Sunderland, Norwich  Fulham and even West ham to within one win of catching, now we need just to squeeze that accelerater pedal and put in a shift ourselves.

Ideally we would win at Newcastle and then follow that up by beating QPR, but that may be a little too much to ask even though its extremely doable, come through both those games unbeaten though and thats a big step, win at least one of them and its even bigger and will set us  up for a big programme in March where we have 3 home games and only one away, its all about keeping an average up in these next five games of at least a point a game, do that as a minimum and we will be well set up for April where we start with a trip to Reading.

This article though has been about looking at minimums rather than what we are well capable of doing, therefore it shouldnt be seen as negative, lets achieve our short term aims and then worry about the end of the season, there is no reason why we shouldnt get at least 6 or 7 points in those five games and if we do that will set us up nicely for the final run in where Spurs away in the final seven is the only truly difficult task on paper at least.

Perhaps we wont get anywhere near Nicola Cortese's aspiratins for the season come the final day, but we are a step closer to achieving his longer term hopes, thios season though a good target to aim for is the 15th place with 43 points that Wigan achieved last year if we do that then Im sure that will have matched most Saints supporters hopes.        

Photo: Action Images

SanMarco added 10:34 - Feb 11 Sorry to be picky but don't we need 12 more to get 'over and above 38 points' (ie 39 points)?? The one note of caution I would urge is that often towards the end of the season teams near the bottom do start picking up more points and 40 might still be needed. We are a far, far better side than the one that went down in 2005 but our rivals this time are also a lot better. Having said all that, for the first time this season, I am very confident that we will not only stay up but do it with a game or two to spare.

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slynch added 11:13 - Feb 11 Saints trashed Manchester City so there's NO teams above us now. Less than 36 points will be disappointing.
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Bulgarian added 12:17 - Feb 11 First thing is Newcastle in 2 weeks time and this is a very, very difficult task, so let's get not carried away. I really hope their two UEFA fixtures will exhaust the players a bit, as well as they will most probably take some of their concentration away. If we take 1 point from Newcastle, then in will be in a solid position for QPR. The dogfight is far from over, but if we collect 4 points from the next 2 games (which will be a great achievement), talks of challenging the top 10 will not be unrealistic. Let's concentrate on Newcastle though. Looking beyond that is too flattering.

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Whatsforpud added 12:35 - Feb 11 Apart from our result, most of the other results went for us this weekend. Villa beating West Ham means we are 3 points out of trouble rather than 4. The other side of the coin is that West Ham are now one of four teams within immediate striking distance. Also, we have the best goal difference of the bottom 7 teams.
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Whatsforpud added 12:41 - Feb 11 Correction - we are still 4 points out of trouble!
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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 17:37 - Feb 11 We can finish in the top 10. If our key players stay fit (Cork, Schneiderlin, Lambert, Boruc, Yoshida, Clyne, Shaw) then we have a great chance of getting 5 or 6 wins out of our remaining games. If any of the players above got injured then there's not a direct replacement as effective as them in thier position. Ramirez and Lallana are struggling to get back into the team at the moment and that's because Puncheon, Rodriguez and Davis are doing very well. That competition for places can only be good for us. We've been playing well for a few months now but just not getting the points we deserve. If we continue to progress and start getting the wins we deserve then we will quickly climb the table.

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davepid added 20:22 - Feb 11 Um shouldnt we hang a bit? We played so very well but we need to remember that two of our goals came from Man City blunders. IF they hadnt occured would we have gone on to win or would it have been 1-1 and our comments would be like those posted after Everton,Wigan and Man Utd? Dont get me wrong,I was so proud of us on Sat and again today at work because of what people said. But we are in a dog fight to the end . I think we are in a better posiiion than some though we need to watch Wigan and probably Reading closely.

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SaintDownUnder added 02:32 - Feb 12 I look at like this... We played Utd off the park, their park, we had more of the ball and more chances. Everton was a game of two halves and a draw was a fair result. Wigan was one of the most one sided games you will ever see, we murdered them. We played city off the park too for long periods, we wanted it more and kept the ball well and on antother day could have beaten them for 3 or 4 goals. I really dont think that 5 points form those 4 games is indicative of how we performed in them argueably 10 points would be. I know that Newcastle away is always tough, however I think with European distraction and our pretty good record against the toon, coupled with the whole ex manager spice there is no reason why we cant go up their and play them off the park too. From what I saw of QPR away at swansea, we have nothing to fear, plus we'll have yet more old manager spice in that game too. 6 points is my prediction, its not blind faith but I look at the way Mo Po has got us set up and hustling teams and i genuinely think it will take time for other manager to adjust, meanwhile I think we'll pick up points. Also I am a MASSIVE Le Tiss fan, as a matter of principal i have had his name put on the back of every England shirt Ive bought over the last 15 years, but is anybody else starting to get sick of him having aq pop at NC? Love him or loath him you cant deny that the club is in a better place since Markus made him custodian of his investment in our club. We are very lucky to have NC at the helm, and I hope we (the saints fans) realise this....... remember the Rupert days? 6 points by 5pm on 2nd March, you heard it here first COYR.

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1teeminants added 09:03 - Feb 12 Newcastle a Draw 1pt Qpr h win 3pts Norwich a win 3pts Liverpool h win 3pts Chelsea h lose 0pts Reading a win 3pts Weat Ham h win 3pts Swansea a lose 0pts WBA h draw 1pt Spurs a lose 0pt Sunderland a draw 1pt Stoke h win 3pts there you go 21 more points 48 points to finish on 11th place finish
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saintgus added 15:44 - Feb 12 I think your right Nick, one another important point is that there are 13 games between the bottom 6 sides to go so it may well even be a lower amount required
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simmo400 added 10:15 - Feb 13 Think your being optomistic Nick. 40 points will always be the bench mark in this league. Agree with the 30 point barrier though, sonner we hit that the better.
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