Claude Puel has joined a select band of Saints managers post World War 2 that have lead Saints to the semi final of a major cup competition.
Claude Puel is the 26th permanent manager of Southampton Football Club since the second World War and he now joins a select group of 5 who have guided their team to a semi final in either the FA or League Cup.
Ted Bates took Saints to the semi final of the FA Cup in 1963 when his side lost to Manchester United at Villa Park by a single goal.
It would be another 13 years before we reached another when Lawrie McMenemy went one stage further and won his semi against Crystal Palace 2-0 en route to the greatest day in the club's history when we beat Manchester United at Wembley on May 1st 1976.
McMenemy reached a League Cup semi final in 1979 when Leeds were beaten in a two legged affair, Terry Curran scoring the only goal n the second leg against Leeds after the sides drew 2-2 at Elland Road, Saints sadly lost the final to Nottingham Forest 3-2.
In 1983/84 it was another FA Cup semi for Lawrie, an injury time winner in extra time sending us to a 1-0 defeat against Everton.
His successor Chris Nicholl achieved two semi finals, the first in 85/86 saw Saints lose 2-0 to Liverpool after extra time in the FA Cup at White Hart Lane and then the following season it was Liverpool again in the League Cup and after a 0-0 draw at the Dell we went down to three goals in the last 20 minutes at Anfield.
Since that game almost 30 years ago we have had only one other semi final, in the 2003 FA Cup at Villa Park when Gordon Strachan's team saw Watford beaten 2-1 before we lost 1-0 to Arsenal at Cardiff.
Now Claude Puel has joined that select group of Saints managers who in a period stretching back over 50 years have taken the club to within sight of winning a trophy and the fact that only two others have managed to take it a step further and win a semi and of those two only one has won a final shows just what Puel has achieved that most of his predecessors haven't.
Now Puel must strive to take two further steps forward and firstly join McMenemy and Strachan in winning a semi and then elevating himself to be only the second Saints manager to win a trophy.
Puel has had his detractors this season especially at the start, but he has made quick progress and already made this season far more exciting than the last one although many Saints fans have yet to wake up to that fact.
Can Claude Puel make those gigantic steps ? we will find out in the next few months, one thing is for sure he has already achieved a lot, can he take it a bit further ?