Southampton’s improvement underlined by change in ten years

Southampton have a stable side in the Premier League and though the threat of relegation has lingered in the last few years, fans could have a lot more to worry about.

That is not to say their fears were unwarranted. The calls for Ralph Hasenhuttl to go towards the start of the season were backed up by the 9-0 home defeat against Leicester and the fact that the Saints were in the relegation zone after 17 games played.

The Austrian boss has since turned things around, and supporters perhaps at that time were not giving the manager nor the club credit for the change in fortunes over the last decade.

On this day ten years ago – 16th March 2010 – the south-coast outfit were on the hunt for a play-off place in League One, which they ultimately missed out on.

That was due, in part, to a 1-0 home defeat to Swindon on that day, with the only goal scored by former striker Charlie Austin.

It was a disappointing defeat considering the side boasted Premier League quality in Morgan Schneiderlin, Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert, with the latter scoring 30 league goals that season.

Alan Pardew led the side and would have qualified for the play-offs had it not been for a ten-point deduction, but he soon found himself out of a job after getting off to a slow start the following season.

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The two years spent in the third-tier show the depths the club has been to in the not too distant past, and although the team has underperformed at times this season, it makes the wins at Chelsea and Leicester all the more impressive.

In transfer news, an up and coming player has caught the attention of Southampton in recent days…