In case they needed telling, last night's results showed Saints just how competitive it is going to be to stay in the top six of the Premier League for the rest of the season.

A look at the chasing pack in the Premier league table after last night's results shows just how tight it is with Manchester United now only 1 point behind us, West Ham 2 and Swansea just 4, it could get even tighter after this evening if Saints were to lose to Arsenal at The Emirates, that would bring the Gunners within 3 points and they could be joined by Spurs if they win at Chelsea.

It is a sobering thought but defeat tonight could see us out of the top four if we lose to both Arsenal and United and with a host of clubs breathing down our necks.

A couple of weeks ago saw us with a big lead over the clubs we finished above last season, but all of a sudden the likes of Man Utd, Spurs, Liverpool and Arsenal are making up ground fast and they could be joined tonight by Everton if they beat Hull at Goodison.

But enough of this defeatist talk, this weekend sees a lot of the top ten clubs playing each other and some of them will have to drop points so from that perspective even two points from the next two games will still see us in a strong position and the chance to bounce back to form over the following three games..

But this midweek round of fixtures has shown us how tough it is at the top and the need to keep winning games, we have laughed at Liverpool but they could be within three points of us come Saturday evening so the message Ronald Koeman needs to be telling his players is clear, we are up where we are on merit, lets stay thereon merit, it is a marathon not a sprint, there will be times as we are now seeing where we are going uphill and slowing down, whilst those behind on the flat are making up ground, but when we get over the top of a hill we can descend the other side at speed whilst they are on the climb.

Photo: Action Images

halftimeorange added 09:27 - Dec 4 There are three keys to the outcome of Saints season. First, Koeman needs to convince the remaining fit players that we are not about to go into freefall. Second, we have to continue to beat all our rivals who are traditionally outside of the top six as the top six will, with the exception of Chelsea, inflict defeats on each other. Third, we have to invest in the January window - another winger (we are relying too much on Tadic), another CB (as we have several who are not quite the quality of Toby) and another goalscorer (as the goals have dried up and we simply don't look like scoring). Man U will be very difficult with our limited resources.

0

Derby County Polls