Saints started the 2023/24 Championship season with the line up giving a clearer idea of who might be leaving imminently and who might just be staying, but the clearest thing was that we are now an organised and efficient outfit.
There was much pre match talk about who would be in and who would be out in Russell Martin's first competitive match in charge of Saints, all was soon revealed and it emerged that Tino Livramento was not named in the squad and Romeo Lavia was on the bench, a position he did not leave during the game, even when Saints were running down 9 minutes of injury time to secure the three points.
In the starting line up though was new signing Ryan Manning, who was joined in the back four by Jack Stephens, Jan Bednarek and Kyle Walker Peters.
James Ward Prowse was in the centre of midfield and it will be a nervy few weeks of will he stay or will he go, with West Ham United now in turmoil behind the scenes and David Moyes seemingly at odds with his new Director of football and now sole owner over transfer policy, that policy seemingly not involving spending much money.
So yet another new managerial era started and there weren't many Saints fans surprised by the style of play, from the start it was possession based and it was clear that the players are comfortable with playing this way, not just from being able to play it on the pitch, but they have bought into what Russell Martin is trying to achieve.
We looked good from the start and we took control of the game after an early bluster from the home side was beaten back, Nathan Tella looked to have given Saints from the lead. although the goal was soon credited to Adam Armstrong, it brushed his head and may or may not have taken it an extra inch or two away from the keeper, that doesn't matter, what did was that we were 1-0 up.
The first half saw us in total control and Wednesday rarely threatened our goal, we looked comfortable in possession and kept the ball well, but we also moved it forward quickly when we could and we had several other good efforts but didn't add to the scoring.
The second half began in a similar fashion to the first, Wednesday came out of the blocks again and our job was to again quieten them down, Sadly this didn't happen, a corner was headed across goal and smashed home from the edge of the box for what would be Wednesday's only shot on target in the entire match.
But we didn't lose focus at this point, we didn't panic, we dug in and got back to our possession game, Russell Martin seemed to be happy by the way we were playing as unlike the second half of last season's managers, he did not make multiple panic substitutions, we kept playing confident in what we were doing.
Stuart Armstrong for Charly Alcatraz with 20 minutes left upped the ante for us a little, and Che Adams with 10 minutes still to play showed that we were not content with just a point.
That change paid dividends with just 3 minutes to go, James Ward Prowse made a nice run which saw him get to the byeline and pull the ball back for Che Adams who swept the ball home to the delight of the 3,000 Saints supporters behind the goal.
The celebrations were barely over when 9 minutes of injury time were announced, just after Joe Aribo was brought on for Sam Edozie, a clear statement that Martin's is confident in the style he wants his team to play, he didn't change the style pr formation to accommodate a more defensive player coming into the fray.
In the past this would have been a long 9 minutes, but it was clear that we were not going to give Wednesday the ball for long enough to get up a head of steam, we passed and passed and we looked comfortable in doing it.
So this was a satisfying victory, yes there were some things that still need to be worked on and there is also the question of just who will be still here in September, but it was done without Livramento or Lavia, so that in a way is pleasing and there are still players to bring in, both already at the club such as Shea Charles and those who will be brought in to replace those who have left.
There will be some who will point to the fact that we had so much possession, 80% to be exact and the Championship record for the most passes, but we only scored twice, they do have a point, but only a small one, it should be remembered that this was the first competitive game, the first time we have played our full side so to speak and not experimenting.
We have players who a track record of scoring in this division and it could be said all three of them scored (lol) Armstrong/Tella and Che Adams winner, judge them all on what they do in the coming season and the level they need to do it at, not their Premier League record.
We created the chances, 23 of them to be exact with 7 on target, the sharpness will come.
At the back we limited them to just 7 attempts, most not threatening and they got just one on target, the goal, but I think we will work on that.
Another thing is the team looks much fitter and it works harder as a result, if you are going to pass and pass, you have to move and move and we are doing this, we looked strong in the final minutes whilst Wednesday were spent.
A man of the match was hard, Will Smallbone was a definite contender, he won the ball and he moved it, he closes people down and showed just why he had such a good season at Stoke in the Championship last season.
Likewise Nathan Tella and Sam Edozie, they have the pace to really take on defences at this level, we new that with Tella, but with Edozie we had seen glimpses, but now he seems to be finding his feet.
So there were far more positives than negatives in this game, that's a good ratio to have, but it wasn't perfect and there are still things to work on.
The big issue though is who will stay or go from the 14 players that took part, that is a big question, there was enough to show that we can still be a force without them as long as we bring in the right players, all we can do to the end of the transfer window is use them while they are here and hopefully build the foundations for the rest of the season.
This was exactly that, all three points giving us a good start to the season, only our 4th opening day win in 35 years, that in itself is a good omen.
The first game is over and three points in the bag, Russell Martin has shown that he is a manager with a gameplan, it will be a long season, but it can be an exciting one.