The Premiership is kids' stuff for clubs like Southampton

It’s now over 18 months since Southampton were relegated from the Premier League. A long time considering the team were supposed to bounce back straight away (as invariably are all teams relegated from the Premiership). But is it really such a bad thing to take some time before returning to the top flight?

Certainly the team are a long way from the heady days of Matt Le Tissier gracing the pitch and those rose-tinted spectacles ensure that fans remember fabulous goals and sublime footballing skill. But the reality was that the team were struggling to compete even then.

Gordon Strachan brought probably the best period in recent times, taking the Saints to the FA Cup Final and into the UEFA cup. However, after his premature departure the team sank lower and lower both on and off the pitch. Certainly this was not helped by the obvious mismanagement of the club at higher level by chairman Rupert Lowe, but the fact was that the team were struggling to compete. A poor first season in the Championship only reinforced this fact – Southampton had been over-achieving for years.

Now, a new leaf has been turned and in George Burley the Saints have one of the best managers in the country. After a shaky start this season, they have slowly, but surely, climbed up the table and with the Championship as tight as it currently is, promotion (either automatic or through the play-offs) is achievable. However, the Premiership is a much changed league to even two seasons ago.