This time last year we had just completed our 11th game of the season and sat in 19th place in the Premier League, not even the most optimistic Saints supporter would have predicted where we would be exactly a year later.

On the 10th November 2012 we faced Swansea at home and they left St Mary's with a 1-1 draw that saw us floundering second from bottom with 5 points, the only team below us were Queens Park Rangers on 4 points and we faced them at Loftus Road the following week in what was going to be a six pointer and a massive boost for the winners with possibly it being a blow to the losers that they would not recover from.

History shows us that we won 3-1 in London a result that although did nothing for our League position as the side above us, Reading also won, it made sure that we kept in touch and had the opportunity to chase down the sides above us over the coming months.

But how far have Saints come in those 12 months, of the 11 who faced the Swans only six started the game against Hull, Shaw, Clyne, Fonte, Lallana & Scheneiderlin, with Rodriguez, Ward Prowse & Davis on the bench.

That shows that we always had the quality in the squad but were just missing a couple of key positions and if I had to name two players who have turned us a year on into a top half of the table side it would be Dejan Lovren & Artur Boruc, they have done far more than most to give us the meanest defence in the Premier League.

It would be easy to suggest that the difference between then and now would be the managers, whilst it cannot be doubted that Mauriccio Pochettino has made a big difference to the way we play, in defence of Nigel Adkins who after all got us to two promotions and when he left we were out of the relegation zone by 3 points, Adkins was not given the players of the quality that Pochettino has this season, Ramirez has so far been an expensive folly, Yoshida ok for the bench but too prone to lack of concentration in games that lead to goals, Mayuka a player who for £3.5 million did nothing of note.

This in essence is where the change has happened, last season we got it wrong in the transfer window of the summer of 2012, in 2013 we got it right and although we didn't make many signings, they were in the main key ones.

So a year on we sit 3rd, 16 places and 18 points better off than this time last year, we have completed one step of the journey forward and now we take another one, whether we take steps forward in the next six weeks or one or two backward is as yet unclear, but whatever the results we will still be far ahead of last season and we should remember that.

Hopefully in our tough spell of 9 games culminating in Chelsea at home on New Years Day we can show that the first 11 games haven't been a flash in the pan, if we can stay up and around the top six after those games we will have a great foundation to build on for the rest of the Season, then it will be down to our transfer committee to show that this summer was no flash in the pan and that we can make a signing or two that will enhance the side and perhaps allow us to kick on to greater things than any of us could have imagined on this day last year.

Photo: Action Images via Reuters