With Luke Shaw going to Manchester United and the impending departure of Adam Lallana there seems to be an air of doom and gloom among-st some Saints supporters but now is the time to keep calm.

It is of course a little disconcerting to see three of your top players walk out of the door in quick succession, however a summer transfer window is like a football match in the fact that the score at the end is the only thing that matters, going a couple of goals down early on doesn't mean you won't win the game after 90 minutes, so we Saints fans need to hold steady and trust that by the close of the transfer window the squad will be as strong as before.

The word is "Squad" of course losing three key players is a blow, but they can be replaced and if we replace them well then the upshot could be a far stronger squad overall and this could actually put us in a stronger position overall, last season we relied too heavily on around 13 outfield players, that was never good and i would hope that Ronald Koeman will look to not only strengthen his first team but the squad overall.

To do that he wil be looking at having a transfer kitty of at least £60 million assuming that the Club's promise to re invest all of the monies received back into incoming transfers.

That in itself puts us in an enviable position when compared to most of the Premier League, the 12 clubs below us would love to not only have a manager of the calibre of Koeman, but to have so much money to strengthen the squad and this is key, even after the loss of those players as a whole we are still in a better position than at least a third of the league, we spend the money wisely and there is no reason why we should not continue to consolidate our position in the Premier League and then enhance it with a tilt at one of the domestic cup competitions and perhaps with that European qualification.

From this point of view I see our ambition actually being higher than before, last season the words from both the ex Chairman and manager were all about Champions League qualification, fine words but in reality we were far from having either the squad or financial clout to make those fine words realistic, indeed Pochettino rubbished the Europa League and was not interested in it nor the cup competitions, his ambitions stretched no further than a league position that kept us free of relegation.

Now that has changed, Koeman knows the value of a trophy or two and how even playing the Europa League can up your profile and make it easier to sign good up and coming players, this being the case this season might well be a lot more exciting than the last.

So we Saints supporters need to keep an open mind on the situation for the time being, let's give our new manager time to get his feet under the table and put his plans into operation, in footballing terms we have gone a goal down earlier in the game, but there is plenty of time to come back and win by the final whistle, ironically this is something we never did under Pochettino, perhaps now we will see things have changed both on and off the pitch.

Photo: Action Images

telsmart added 10:38 - Jun 28 Expecting the next tranche of sales from Saints to include DL MS JC VW NC CC and possibly later when fit JR. COYRs if there are any left to play.
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LostBoys added 10:41 - Jun 28 Maybe but I am not happy with any of this but we could lose more players yet - Schneiderlin and Lovren in particular
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mayfairsaint1 added 11:17 - Jun 28 Funny thing is, if so many of our players think (or other people think) they're good enough for champions league, how come we didn't finish higher than 8th last season? Suggests we under performed under Poch. Fact is, the players he inherited in January 2013 would have made most managers look good. Poch must think this premier league lark is easy. He's going to find out its not this season at Spurs. As Nick has pointed out, we didn't win 1 game after going behind at any stage in a game during his tenure. Ironically, the geezer he replaced at Spurs did to to us. Twice! As for losing Rickie (legend) and Llalana, our failure to convert possession into goals was a weakness so we need new blood up front. Having said that, I agree with other posters, we need to lift the draw bridge now. There are players I would hate to see leave. Far more, than the 3 that have gone.

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warnfordcookie added 11:45 - Jun 28 We have had a terrible six and half weeks and all the press and pundit speculation is true. However, it is a similar time to the start of the season, it's half time now is the time for a comeback something the Dutch are very good at it seems. We have the structure and the facilities and the manager to make those who have departed regret what they have done starting at Anfield on day one another victory there will make the doom merchants sit up and take notice that we are here to stay>

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nomorerumours added 11:52 - Jun 28 I completely agree with mayfairsaint1. I am extremely optimistic about our club's future - short and long term. I feel that RoKo (who gave him that nickname? - I like it and it should stick) will prove to be our best manager yet. He has excellent connections and will buy wisely and quickly. He has an distinguished reputation for bringing on young players and mixing them with more experienced players and forming them into competitive teams. He is just as focussed on attacking, attractive football as Poch was but, unlike Poch, not totally at the expense of leaving vast holes in the defense. I urge those pessimistic Saints fans to have much more faith in the owners, the Chairman, the manager and the team. Do not pass judgement at least until Christmas (and beyond) - I think we will all be pleasantly surprised.

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forest_saint added 13:01 - Jun 28 We are once again the laughing stock of the PL. Just look at Twitter! Can you just imagine at the end of next season when Hansen says on MOTD "Well if only they'd hung on to their top players then they would be in a relegation dogfight!"
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pintsizedsaint added 13:40 - Jun 28 Forest saint: are we really the laughing stock of the PL? A few idiots posting twitter comments doesn't make that the case. Most think the Board have done some good business. Time will tell, and now is not the time to make conclusions. There is nothing to suggest yet that we will struggle next season. We are getting strong links to Pelle, Danny Ings and Tudic/Kolo - all strong talents. All it takes is a couple of astute signings. As for the continuing sales, I think a time is approaching where the Saints need to shut up shop - just so to give a clear signal of intent. I can't argue with any of the deals to date, but Lovren would hurt given the clear gaps at CB. Have a look at some of the Liverpool blogs. Many LFC fans feel they have been ripped off! AL has got it all to do there..

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