The win over Liverpool meant that Saints had equalled their best ever points tally after 17 games since the Premier League started in 1992, but with 2 games to go before the half way mark in the season, can they beat their record at that point in the season.

Saints unlikely win over Liverpool last night was one to celebrate, but the victory also meant that Ralph Hasenhuttl is on track to beat the number of points total at the half way mark for any Saints manager since the Premier League started in season 1992/93.

That distinction is currently held by Ronald Koeman who back in 2014/15 in his first season in charge saw his side sit in 4th place on 33 points after 19 games at the turn of the year.

Koeman had 29 points after 17 games, exactly the same number that Ralph Hasenhuttl has this morning, he reached 33 with a 3-1 away win at Crystal Palace on Boxing Day followed by a 1-1 draw at St Mary's with Chelsea.

The previous record was held by Gordon Strachan who after 17 games had 26 points in both season 2002/03 & 2003/04 he would have 28 & 27 points respectively at the half way mark.

So Ralph could make a little piece of Saints history, if he can win the next two games, firstly Leeds United and then Leicester City, both away from home, if he does that then he will have 35 points on the board.

The half way mark has come a little later this year with the season being delayed by around 4 weeks, but hectic schedules in both January and February will bring in back on track.

But it should also be noted that the 17 game mark was the point in the season when it all started to go a bit wrong for Claude Puel, the Frenchman might not have a great reputation with some Saints supporters, but his one season was in the top six in terms of achievements in both League position and reaching a major cup final.

In his season Puel had 24 points after 17 games after a fine 3-1 win at Bournemouth and his team sat in 7th place, but 4 straight defeats in the League were a big setback and ironically when he won the 5th game in that run 3-0 against Leicester it would prove to be a big turning point in his career at St Mary's with the loss of Virgil Van Dijk to a snidey tackle by Jamie Vardy.

The fact that Ralph is actually in the position to beat Koeman's record shows just how far he has taken the club in just over two years in charge, in the 2017/18 season it was the 34th game of the season. a tense 0-0 draw at Leicester that earned us our 29th point of the season.

So it is little steps at a time for Saints, we have equalled our best ever Premier League start after 17 games, we now need to keep the record going game by game, it would be nice to beat the record at the half way mark, but the bigger picture is more important and that will be achieved game by game.

Photo: Action Images

ElijahK added 16:22 - Jan 5 The answer is just plain and simple... yes!
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A1079 added 22:10 - Jan 5 Impossible to say. We could just as easily go on a bad run. As good as last nights result was, the performance and results against Fulham and West Ham were disappointing - though at least we did not lose. I prefer to just focus on the 40 point mark first, then look towards 50 and then so on. One step at a time. Nothing wrong in having ambition but all too often when we think we are onto something good our expectations can quickly become dented. Equally sometimes when things have looked lost we have pulled it around. I just want to enjoy the good moments and hope the less good ones are short and brief.

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