Sunday’s win over Burnley was a fantastic example of Saints’ current standing in English football.

Claude Puel’s men dominated The Clarets from start to finish and showed quality throughout the side.

It’s hard to pin down any particular highlight with so many positives, from Sam McQueen’s perfect home debut and a brace from Charlie Austin, to a fine finish and performance from Nathan Redmond and a rock solid display from Oriol Romeu.

We also saw the usual conscientious efforts from Steven Davis, Jose Fonte, Jordy Clasie Dusan Tadic, while Fraser Forster looked tidy but largely untroubled.

Although Virgil van Dijk wasn’t at his usual near-perfect level, the man of the moment — potentially the best central defender in the league — is entitled to a below-par 90 minutes from time to time.

I’m at a loss as to why some fans expressed disappointment at the first half display, particularly considering the only thing which stood in the way of a 2-0 lead at half-time was Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton.

He produced a world-class stop from an Austin header and a body block from Tadic’s close-range effort — two saves he really had no right to make.

Over 90 minutes the statistics speak for themselves — 65% possession, 34 shots and eight corners. In comparison, Sean Dyche’s men managed 35% and six shots, of which the only one on target was the penalty scored by Sam Vokes.

OK, so why get excited about a home victory against a newly-promoted, bottom-half side?

The win and performance summed up what a strong position the club finds itself in at the moment despite having to manage a busy schedule.

Some may argue this followed a return from an international break, but there’s no such thing for Saints. The club had no less than 15 players on international duty.

That fact suggests Puel and his staff deserve praise not only for how they have handled the players to this point, but also how they react following internationals — taking into consideration the upcoming fixture pile-up.

I stated in my column on 31 August about the need to reflect on the first seven league games of last season in the face of a slow start to this term.

The 2015-16 season saw Saints record two wins, three draws and two defeats. That has been replicated this season under Puel but with additional wins against Sparta Prague in the Europa League and Crystal Palace in the League Cup.

As we head towards Saints’ trip to the San Siro, Sunday’s visit to Manchester City and the home League Cup tie against Sunderland next Wednesday, Puel’s rotation system will need to be in full swing.

He has used it effectively up until now and there is no reason why he will not be able to do the same as we head into this busy period.

In addition to utilising players efficiently, he has also instilled a desire to play and win among the squad as a whole.

James Ward-Prowse, despite fairly little game time, has looked as comfortable and hungry as I have ever seen him, while Jay Rodriguez continues to defy the odds and fight on from every set-back.

The squad also continues to grow, with the left back now ably covered not just by Matt Targett but also McQueen.

We also await the much-anticipated introduction of Moroccan Sofiane Boufal, who is now in full training and expected to feature in the squad in the near future.

The 22-year-old could still, in my view, prove to be the most astute signing of the summer.

Some may argue the club signed a £16 million player with an injury and who is likely to head off to the African Cup of Nations in January.

On the other hand, Saints have signed one of the most promising and exciting talents in world football in a cut-price deal despite the current extortionate transfer market.

Puel has already demonstrated his team can cope and perform — and win — without Boufal.

With him, and if he shows anything near the form that caught the attention of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Tottenham, we could see the team move up a gear.

On top form, he could be the difference between a good season and a great season. Time will tell.

Photo: Action Images

GeordieSaint added 16:43 - Oct 18 A good balanced piece of writing. I really think we will have a clearer idea of how the season will pan out after the next few games. City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton all coming up in the league and while the top teams all look stronger than last year nobody is infallible. The astute work of the new deals handed out in the summer also means there is less likely to be the same level of upheaval in the next couple of windows. If this new lad is a bit different in being able to dribble past players it really will provide a different dimension to the team's play. Really looking forward to my first game of the season on Sunday when Saints play City, backing the lads to get a hard fought draw.

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perazi added 22:12 - Oct 18 A very fair write up. Such an easy win, on par with the disposal of West Ham a few weeks back. I don't think I've seen a better performance from Clasie; Romeu was in control all day and in truth there wasn't a poor Saints performer - though I hope Forster only takes half his wedge, so un-needed was he on the day. A word about Puel; I was one of the doubters early on with his new system and approach, but he obviously has the players onside and motivated - he's thoughtful, intelligent and encouraging of the Club's youth, and he has the side playing attractive Football. Yes, there may be a few tough weeks coming up v Man City and Chelsea, but the platform is set for another solid year. The only player we are missing is Mane, if Boufal fulfils the promise of his reputation then Saints once again have successfully reorganised the losses of personnel.

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abingdonsaint added 22:56 - Oct 18 Still early days, but we are steadily improving both collectively and individually with every game. Puel seems to have bought in to 'The Southampton Way' more fully than Koeman ever did, and our play seems more fluid, with extra crispness in our passing, particularly in the final third. Although we are not scoring as many as we should, and certainly need to be more clinical, especially against the better sides, we are creating an awful lot of chances. If Boufal is as good as he is rumoured to be, exciting times ahead. Liked Koeman, but beginning to think he was holding us back.....

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saintmark1976 added 07:42 - Oct 19 At the risk of being called a wet blanket can I preach a little caution. To date we have only played two of the top six teams and lost to them both. On Sunday we played well against a Burnley team who apart from their keeper were very poor by any standard. Yes things look better now than many at the start of the season (me included) expected but it is far too early to make a judgment.

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SaintBrock added 13:43 - Oct 21 Perhaps more so than ever this season, mini-leagues are developing in the top flight; the quality of the top eight clubs is becoming so high that a real gulf is opening up between them and the rest of the league with the bottom 4 or 6 looking particularly poor in comparison. Burnley may well fit into that bottom group which perhaps is no better or no worse than the top 6 of the Championship. I suggest that is what we witnessed on Sunday against Burnley although whether we are truly now lodged permanently in that top group of 8 remains to be seen, as you say Nick. Certainly there are signs of improvement in the team from the beginning of the season when players seemed all at sea with the 'new' system that Puel favours. Defensively when all our players are fit we seem to have lost little from the departure of Wanyama and may have actually progressed from last season through more experience and greater cohesion. We seem to be hard to beat but on the converse side we are not scoring goals as frequently as we should or as freely as we did on occasion last season. If we can find the midas touch in front of goal then who knows where this team could go? saintmark1976's caution is well advised, it is indeed very early days and whilst it is fair to say no team including Arsenal, Man U or Inter have looked better than us so far the next few games mostly against other teams in the top 8 will give a better barometer of where we stand this season. We play a possession game that impresses neutrals largely one suspects because it looks like how the beautiful game of football should be played but we need results as well, otherwise it may be exposed as all style and little substance. From a very personal perspective it looks to me that we could be very good indeed and heading for the top 4!

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