Southampton have hit something of a hurdle in their quest for promotion from the Championship recently.
In the league, it is now just one win, and three defeats, from their last four matches.
That is something that has seen the pressure rise on Russell Martin‘s side, in the battle to secure a return to the Premier League this season.
The Saints have now dropped to 4th in the table. They are five points adrift of an automatic promotion spot, with 12 games of the regular season to be played.
Despite that, Southampton do still have one high profile admirer who expects them to go far, in the form of Jurgen Klopp.
Jurgen Klopp gives Southampton verdict
On Wednesday, Martin took his side to Anfield to face Klopp’s Liverpool in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Ultimately, it was the Premier League side who progressed. Goals from Lewis Koumas and Jayden Danns – the latter netting a double – sealed 3-0 win for the hosts.
Even so, Klopp has seen enough from Southampton to believe they will get back to the Premier League. However, he does admit that promotion may not come this season.
Asked for his verdict on the Saints after Wednesday’s game, the Liverpool boss told The Daily Echo: “I know a little bit about the situation in the Championship table – it is really tight.
“You can see Southampton’s direction is absolutely right. The way that Russell wants them to play is obvious. There are some risks that come with the style. You have to get used to it more and more. It is not for me to decide if they get promoted or not.
“They may stay in the Championship and get another year to work on it. That could allow them to win more games in the Premier League because they might be a bit more settled.
“We should have our moments and they have more moments than we expect. All of it was obviously incredibly important. It was against a Southampton team we would have had problems with anyway.
“But in our situation we tried to give as much information as possible to them and we had to improve during the game. The first 15 minutes we were all over the place; we tried to press but the timing was horrendous and Southampton used that.
“From my point of view the future looks really positive. But I would not call myself an expert having watched their last three games.”
Southampton turn their focus back to league action on Saturday afternoon, when they travel to St Andrew’s to face Birmingham City.
Saints can take confidence from Anfield trip
There are certainly reasons for Southampton to feel optimistic after their trip to Liverpool in midweek.
Of course, the result did not go the way that any in that packed out and continuously voiciferous away end would have wanted.
However, they did still cause their Premier League opposition plenty of problems. Indeed, had their finishing been better with the chances they created in the early stages of the match, this could have been a very different story.
As a result, that game can arguably serve as a reminder of what Southampton are capable of doing.
That should help to remind them that they can do a job against opposition teams in the Championship, who do not have the same sort of quality as Liverpool.
Of course, they ought to already know that from what they have done this season. This though, can still provide a useful confidence boost around St Mary’s after their recent dip in form, that allows them to turn things around.
With that in mind, Wednesday’s trip to Liverpool could still end up being an important one for Southampton, despite the result.