It’s Matchday 17 of the Premier League season and Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Southampton have just been defeated by fellow relegation rivals West Ham 1-0 at St Mary’s Stadium. Sitting third from bottom with a goal difference of minus 18 the Saints were quickly becoming most people’s favorites to join Watford and Norwich in the Championship next season.
Five games later, Southampton are on a roll with four wins, one draw and have improved their goal differential to minus 12. This rich vein of form has Hasenhuttl’s men level on points with 10th place Arsenal and eight points clear of Bournemouth who sit in the dreaded 18th spot.
Most of the headlines have been aimed the direction of striker Danny Ings who now has 14 for the season in the Premier League, second behind Jamie Vardy. An £18 million signing from Liverpool, Ings is showing the sort of form that garnered an England call up in 2015 with five goals in the last five games.
What’s been most impressive though for Hasenhuttl’s side is the level of competition they have overturned in those encounters. While they defeated fellow strugglers Aston Villa to start the run, since then they have beaten Chelsea, Tottenham and most recently high flying Leicester City. They also drew with Crystal Palace who are in the top ten, but now only one point ahead of the marching Saints.
The latest win over Leicester was made all the more sweeter considering what happened to Hasenhuttl’s men in October. Vardy and company absolutely embarrassed The Saints at St Mary’s, running out 9-0 winners on what was probably the lowest point of their season and one which could have easily cost Hasenhuttl his job.
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The board stuck by their man though and are reaping the rewards now as the Saints go marching in to a possible top ten finish for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
