What a difference a week can make.

Saints seem to have been transformed from a team low on confidence, seemingly condemned to the fate of a season of drudgery, to a vibrant side flourishing with promise and passion, and a clear tactical plan.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s arrival at the club has, of course, been the catalyst.

While there is still a long way to go, what an impact he has made.

His approach has been, first and foremost, to try and galvanise. He has, accurately, observed a club struggling for a common purpose and with disquiet around every corner.

Hasenhuttl is astute and knows that the only way to turn around Saints’ fortunes is to get everybody on board and pulling in the same direction.

The immediate task is to keep Saints up, then the real work can begin next summer.

Only somebody like Hasenhuttl could really pull off what he is attempting.

Not only because of his personality and character, but because he comes from the outside, untainted by anything that has gone before.

He has already made huge strides in getting the players, fans and media onside. He not only took in the under-23s match on Saturday but ended the game in the dugout.

This all-embracing positivity, this relentless drive for improvement, and the demands that the squad in particular either come with him or make way for others who will is exactly what’s called for.

His letter to season ticket holders, coupled with a voucher for a free pint, was also perfectly judged.

And the supporters really responded as well.

They might not quite have known what to make of it all until they saw Hasenhuttl in the technical area, all fist pumping, head in hands, triumph and despair, as he kicked every ball and, eventually went wild in celebration on the pitch at the full time whistle.

He inspired a superb performance from his team, and the players he picked, and also those he didn’t, spoke volumes of his initial impressions of who can help Saints out of this problem and who can’t.

To go to Huddersfield next weekend, a colossal match for Saints by any standards, on the back of beating Arsenal, is beyond what most thought possible.

Saints have already pulled themselves out of the relegation zone. If they can beat the Terriers on their own patch then they have every reason to look ahead with hope and optimism, rather than fear and loathing.

It’s a feeling Saints fans have craved for a couple of years.

But for them, for the club, anybody who can get the team to win a game like that, and finally put another St Mary’s victory on the board, is a truly exciting prospect.