Why the Saints can avoid the drop

With the start of the new Premier League season, the three newly promoted teams are the favorites among the bookmakers to make the drop back into the championship.

Southampton go into the international break without a point from their first 3 outings back in the top flight! Their fans and some pundits did expect them to get something out of their game against Wigan, but they weren’t given a hair’s chance of troubling last seasons champions and runners up.

Despite the fact that they are rock bottom right now, they have shown that they have the players with the skill, guile and heart to suggest that they might still be around for the 2013/14 season. Manager Nigel Adkins has instilled a hardworking and yet attractive footballing philosophy into his squad, and this has definitely translated into their performances. Under Adkins, the Saints have a 1.97 points per game average, which isn’t too bad at all. And they have shown that they are not afraid of facing the big teams and can trouble them, and results against the top teams is what will ensure survival in the end.

In Adam Lallana, they have a young, dynamic leader who fought through heart problems to get to where he is now and this is the fighting spirit that spreads through his team. Rickie Lambert‘s finishing is what propelled Southampton into the top flight and he has showed that he can continue his excellent form at the very big stage as well. The club record signing of Uruguyan Gaston Ramirez, who was a target for many of the top clubs, gives a signal of the clubs intent, that they are here to STAY! The exciting winger will definitely add another dimension to their game and could be the x-factor that they need.

The only area of concern is their defense, which seems to put up a good performance upto the 75th minute, but ends up losing concentration and thus costing them the match in the end. A few tweaks in the centre back positions could be the solution to their defensive problems.

So all hope isn’t lost yet, they maybe lying at the bottom now, but don’t be surprised if they end up avoiding the drop come May!