Saints have six games which by the end of will define the season, but will it be success or failure in the quest for Europe.

Saints are aiming to match the 60 points that they amassed last season to take them into the Europa league, currently sitting in 7th place on 47 points there is all to play for in the final six games, but will this season be judged on what Saints do in the final six games alone or will they like last season need a little help from elsewhere to make it extra special.

If this season is to be as good as last year then Saints need to win 4 and draw 1 of their final 6 games to match the 60 points gained last year, if they fail to do that then as good as the season will have been it will be seen as one tinged with disappointment and perhaps one of "If only" when Saints look at the silly points they have dropped in games that they should really have won or at least drawn.

If we look at these final half dozen then there are four that are winnable and two in Manchester City at home and Tottenham Hotspur away that will be tougher but we could get something out of.

So the incentive is there for Saints to look to hit that 60 point total again and with players back from long term injury and virtually a full squad to pick from there is no reason why we shouldn't.

But our problem all season has been errors and lapses in concentration in key moments, when we have been good we have been very good, but too often these lapses have let us down and they have not just been in defence, too often we have failed to bury chances and take the game by the scruff of the neck and paid dearly for it.

So in the run in we need to be masters of our own destiny, we need to make sure that a missed chance, a lapse in concentration or indeed a refereeing decision does not cost us dearly as it has done at ties.

If we do that then there is no reason why we should not match last season's finish, but it should be noted that even that will not be easy, Liverpool are breathing down our necks with games in hand and Chelsea have risen up the table rapidly in recent weeks.

Indeed how different the table would look if we had not given away that late winner to Chelsea at the end of February, we would be now six points clear of them and that would have been a tough ask for them to make up.

So our final destiny is not quite in our own hands, we need Liverpool and Chelsea to drop a few points and take the pressure off us, also we need either West Ham or Manchester United to win the FA Cup assuming they finish above us, if they do then the 3rd Europa League place will revert to 7th in the Premier League as it did last year and this could be crucial for us.

Catching Manchester United and West Ham will not be easy with so few games left and the 5 & 4 point gap respectively not to mention the game they both have in hand on us, we really do need as near to a maximum points haul as is possible.

If we do that we should at least hold of the surge of Liverpool and Chelsea and then we can start considering the Europa League again.

My gut feeling is that 7th place is as high as we can hope for, we have dropped too many points in recent weeks and now we are running out of games fast to make up that lost ground, as it stands i would take 7th place now.

But whatever the season does finally hold we should be more than capable of finishing n the top 10, if we do, yes it will be lower than the last two years, but we have to remember that firstly this year has been more congested at the top than previous years and secondly a third consecutive top 10 finish equals our best ever run in the top flight and that is some achievement, even if ultimately there is a feeling of what might have been with a little more concentration.

Photo: Action Images

schatfield added 13:43 - Apr 7 top 10 is still an achievement but 7th would be wonderful. With the games in hand the other teams have it just might be a stretch too far this year though.
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SaintBrock added 19:43 - Apr 8 I agree with schatfield too many teams want it as badly as us and are playing well. The Spurs and Man City games are really tough and probably not going to yield many points if any.
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