After a great end to 2019, Saints can go into 2020 knowing that if they are to avoid relegation then the task ahead is both realistic & achievable.
The mathematics are simple for Saints, if they are to hit the normal points target to avoid relegation of 40, then they have to average exactly a point a game from the remaining 18 games.
The computations are many, but in simple terms if Saints can win 5 games then they should be capable of at least another 3 draws.
Indeed the points total of 22 from the first 18 games is a ratio of 1.1 per game, so repeat that and we would end up on 42 points.
But of course 40 points is not guaranteed to keep a side up it's merely the normal benchmark, so it is important to get there or thereabouts as quickly as possible.
Other clubs supporters will be looking at the League Table and doing similar equations and with the resurgence of Watford of late, the relegation battle is not going to be as clear cut as other years and it could be any 3 out of 8 clubs starting from Burnley on 24 points and going downwards.
It is not going to be easy and at times we will have setbacks, but we can now be clear at the size of the task and how we can measure it.
As long as we keep our points total above the number of games we have played then we should be fine, we start the New Year with 5 clubs below us and a 4 point gap between us and relegation, the longer we can keep that situation the same or hopefully improve on it than the quicker we reach our goal.
The main advantage we have is that we have a specific area we are weak in and that even a slight improvement there by a signing or two in January will be a big improvement and boost, whereas with other teams their problem areas are harder to pinpoint.
Against Crystal Palace the goal we conceded was not an obvious error, but it was still one that we should not have let in, we really should have been marking tighter and not allowing an opponent a free header in that area, we tighten up on this type of goal and we will see an immediate improvement throughout the side.
So December has shown that we do have a good side and one capable of a lot better than it has shown so far if it gets in a player or two in key positions we are weak in.
The key now is to stay strong and stay calm, every defeat is not a crisis just as much as every win does not mean that things are all totally OK again.
In football splashing the cash is only the answer if you are so rich you can buy the best, the Premier League is littered with £30 million flops at clubs outside of the Big Six, the key is getting the right players not just buying the dearest you can afford.
I have said this many times, a club like Saints can but a £30 million player just as Everton can buy a £50 million one, but paying £50 million does not mean you get a £50 million player very often it means that you get an average player at an inflated price.
On the field this season Saints have had their problems, but we have come through them stronger and now we need to move forwards again.