Strengthen the defence and the Saints can march on to survival

Hannah Duncan assesses the current situation at Southampton and explains why they must strengthen at the back in the next transfer window if they are to remain a top-flight club...

Southampton's plight this season won't have come as a shock to too many despite their superb form in the Championship last season, but although they find themselves in a bit of bother heading into the festive period, they have the foundations for Premier League survival.

 

Despite a sluggish start to life in the top flight, the Saints' form has improved week on week and they've finally got two successive wins under their belts to lift Nigel Adkins' side out of the relegation zone.

 

They host Norwich this evening, which is another winnable game despite the Canaries' good form of late, but you have to go back to December 2003 since Southampton enjoyed three consecutive victories in the top-flight.

 

Southampton are 2.14 favourites to beat Norwich at the St Mary's Stadium, with Chris Hughton's men outsiders at 3.8.

 

On the positive side for Adkins' men, they've been far from shy in front of goal, netting many more than the teams around them in the league table.

 

The Saints have hit the back of the net 20 times this campaign, while the likes of Aston Villa, Sunderland and Wigan have scored just 10, 12 and 15 respectively, so Southampton certainly have solid foundations to build on going forward.

 

They have also got goals in them from all over the park, with the likes of Jose Fonte, Gaston Ramirez and Jason Puncheon getting on the scoresheet alongside the more predictable names of Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana.

 

Whether they can maintain their all-round goalscoring form for the whole season is another matter, as they won't want to become too dependent on Lambert.

 

But things aren't quite so rosy at the back. Sunday's 2-0 win over Newcastle was the Saints first clean sheet of the season and however many goals a team is scoring, that is always going to spell trouble.

 

Adkins' side have a goal difference of -10, with only QPR and Villa having worse records. And when you consider Southampton's goalscoring prowess compared to the teams around them, it's clear to see where the problem lies and which area desperately needs addressing in January if they are to harbour genuine hopes of Premier League survival.

 

Southampton broke their club transfer record twice over the summer, first with Jay Rodriguez and then Ramirez, both of whom are proving great buys. And while there's no saying they have to spend so highly again in January, there certainly needs to be a solid level of investment in new faces, with a centre back top of the hit-list.

 

The return of former Chelsea midfielder Jack Cork from injury has given Adkins' men a huge boost in recent weeks, in which times they've shown signs of a side who can beat the drop.

 

But while the Saints are at 7.2 outsiders to be bottom at Christmas, they are a much less promising 2.04 for relegation come May.

 

But a lot is set to depend on Adkins' dealings in the New Year sales.

 

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