The good feeling is back at St Mary’s, as Southampton picked up a third straight Championship victory last night.
Russell Martin‘s side absolutely played Preston North End off the park, with the first half perhaps one of the best all season.
It was a real statement from the South Coasters, who sent out a clear message to their automatic promotion rivals.
They are very much still in with a shout of a top-two finish and now lie just five adrift of Ipswich Town at the summit.
Southampton have a game in hand on them, too, so Kieran McKenna’s men will certainly be looking over their shoulders.
Former defender Francis Benali, speaking on Sky Sports, issued his prediction on whether they’ll get promoted.
Francis Benali shares his honest Southampton prediction
Benali was particularly pleased with how assured Southampton were at the back last night and noted that heading into the game they’d kept only one clean sheet from their last nine.
So he was delighted with the defence, though, when asked for a promotion prediction, he was cautious in his answer.
“Saints are very much in the mix now. In some ways they won’t want to be as in recent weeks, it’s been good for Southampton not to be in the spotlight,” Benali said.
“You’ve seen what impact that has had on the teams in those positions, it’s how they respond and bounce back from that now. So, there’s still a little bit inside of me, as much as I would dearly love Saints to be in the top two, there’s something in my head that’s saying it’s going to be by the playoffs.”
As he alluded to, Martin’s side now have the eyes back on them, with four teams gunning for a top-two finish.
It will be interesting to see how they cope with that added pressure, as they’ve enjoyed the underdog role in the last week.
Southampton now have more pressure to deal with
Southampton can’t afford to get carried away with the outside noise, as still they have work to do to surmount the gap.
Their upturn in form has coincided with the three teams above them dropping points and if they are to secure automatic promotion, it’s vitally important that they remain level-headed.
As the saying goes, just take it one game at a time, as they prepare to travel to Southeast Wales to face Cardiff City.
It’s a must-win game in reality, though, Martin shouldn’t frame it like that to his players. We’ve seen how the pressure has got to Leeds United, Leicester City and Ipswich in recent weeks, so that’s something Saints will have to contend with.