Recently, life has taken a more pleasant turn at St. Mary’s. The club is now owned by Swiss billionaire Markus Liebherr, who in a press release following his purchase of the club acknowledged the difficult task in front of him:

One of his first tasks as Chairman has been to appoint Alan Pardew to the vacated managerial post, a man with a very successful track record of gaining promotion in league football. In 2002 he guided Reading to automatic promotion from the old second division – now League One - and in 2006 he was at the helm of the West Ham team that won the Championship play-off final to return to the Premier League after a two-year absence. Pardew, with financial backing from Liebherr, is steadily assembling a very talented squad. His first high profile signing came in the form of League One’s joint top goal scorer last season, Rickie Lambert. The powerful forward cost £1 million, but his performances are justifying his high price tag; he has scored 7 goals in 12 league games so far this season. Lambert has since been joined by other attacking players Papa Waigo, a winger on loan from Fiorentina with experience playing in Serie A , and journeyman David Connolly who has a proven track record in higher divisions, to form a formidable frontline. The new squad initially experienced a slow start to the season, failing to secure their first league victory until a 2-0 win against Yeovil in September, their 8^yh game of the season.

Now, The Saints have pushed on and adapted to the differing footballing styles they are now faced with in League One. Leeds are the only team in English Football League history to manage to overcome a points deduction and avoid relegation and The Saints are looking to mirror this. The Club are now firmly distancing themselves from their initial setback, climbing from the bottom of the table with successive 3-1 away victories against Southend, Oldham and MK Dons. In their last four league games Southampton have put three or more goals past their opponents.On this form, the future looks bright for the Saints. One only hopes that they continue in the same successful manner for the rest of the season