Saints go into this weekend's clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers knowing that three more wins should see us safe, but if we get them sooner than later then we should be looking upwards not behind us.

Not many Saints fans would have predicted a month ago that Saints would be on 28 points today and indeed only 4 points behind Sheffield United in 6th place and only one more than that behind Manchester United in 5th.

But since our defeat on 14th December to West Ham United we have gone 6 games unbeaten, 5 in the Premier League and another in the FA Cup, a run that has seen 13 points out of a total of 15 and indeed 20 out of the last 30 points, that has seen us rise out of the bottom 3 and in sight of the top 10.

So with 16 games we need to win just three more times with a few draws alongside them to see us safe for another season.

But if we can get those wins sooner than later, then we can start looking up and not down, our next two games are going to be tough, but there is no reason why we should not get something out of it.

With this season's Premier League seeing only one team really head and shoulders above the rest as we showed with our win at Leicester City, we could have a lot better season than most predicted.

But we should not get carried away just yet, the first task is to get these wins under our belts and keep the good form going, if we can do that then a top 10 finish is a distinct possibility and with a bit of luck perhaps more.

To give this season some perspective, a year ago after 22 games we had 19 points, a year earlier we were only a point better off as we spiralled towards a relegation battle that we looked likely to lose at one point.

Under Claude Puel we finished 8th in 2017, we had 27 points at this stage, but amazingly in 2016 under Ronald Koeman when we finished 6th, our best finish in 35 years after 22 games we had 30 points !

2014/15 started well, at this stage we were 3rd with 42 points but we tailed off badly before an end of season rally.

Mauricio Pochettino took us to 8th and at this point he had 31 points only slightly more than now and when Nigel Adkins was in charge 22 points from 22 games was not enough to save him from the sack and that highlights that this season has fast turned and since our return to the Premier League we have only been better off at this stage twice an I would hazard a guess that we haven't had 28 points after 22 games that many times in our first spell in the Premier League after it's inaugural season in 1992/93

So hats off to Hasenhuttl in the way that he has turned this season around, many said it was our worst season ever, but it is far from that, as long as we knock off those three wins sooner than later and if we do, then perhaps it might just be our best ever, now that would be something to behold.

Photo: Action Images

schatfield added 21:28 - Jan 15 doesnt 3 wins and a few draws equal 4 wins!!?
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Herts_Saint added 21:53 - Jan 15 Easier to just target 4 wins.
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1970 added 22:19 - Jan 15 I'd take 12 draws
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davidargyll added 23:11 - Jan 15 One key point worth remembering is that our recent performances makes us so much more attractive to potential new recruits. A couple of months ago it would have been hard to persuade more than the desperate to join us; now it really wouldn’t surprise me if there weren’t quite a few knocks on our door...!
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dirk_doone added 06:50 - Jan 16 Next season will be Saints' 44th in the top flight in 54 years and I have witnessed all of them, right back to our first ever game in the top flight, v Man City. A highlight of that first top flight season was seeing Saints beat West Ham's 'World Cup winning team', including Moore, Hurst & Peters, 6-2. For comparison, Pompey spent a total of 33 seasons in the top flight, most of them more than 70 years ago and even I wasn't born then.

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the_saint added 07:56 - Jan 16 Safety always used to be 40 points target so thets just say 4 wins
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the_saint added 08:08 - Jan 16 I predict one more win and we are safe oh and a few draws.si the latter part pretty much covers me as I can have as many draws as I like, I should write for the ugly inside
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dirk_doone added 08:12 - Jan 16 Saints are currently 25/1 10th favourites for relegation and 13/8 to finish in the top 10. Of more interest is how many more points we need to secure our 5th top 8 finish in 7 years.
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