Festive schedule really is Southampton's last chance saloon

Boasting just five points from their first 15 league matches, all three teams who were previously in this position finished bottom of the table.

The club were famous architects of incredible great escapes in the 1990s and have repeated the trick in the modern era - but the gap is growing.

In 17th place, Crystal Palace have eight points over Russell Martin's side. They will, however, have a chance to reduce that before the end of 2024.

While pundits and supporters may have already written Saints off, the boss and his players cannot allow themselves to believe what is probably true.

READ MORE: Saints set to open St Mary's pub 'The Dell' this weekend

They have endured a tough run of fixtures on paper with three games against sides who ended the match in the top two of the Premier League.

Southampton's only win in 15 games came against Everton (Image: Stuart Martin) And in and around the spell in which they blew chances against relegation rivals Leicester City and Wolves, they also visited Arsenal and Man City.

There is a bit of a fixture swing over the Christmas period, starting with a visit from Tottenham Hotspur, who are reeling from one win in their last five.

They then travel to 10th-place Fulham, who were recently beaten 4-1 at home by Wolves, after hosting Liverpool in the Carabao Cup quarter-final.

That trip to Craven Cottage is the first of three decisive games in eight days, which will take us up to the halfway mark of the Premier League schedule.

A home match against West Ham on Boxing Day and the potential relegation six-pointer at Selhurst Park will give us a strong indication of the final table.

If Saints are still on five, six, seven, eight or even nine, 10, or 11 points then they will be as good as done (11 would be good for one thing, at least).

If they are on 12, 13 or 14 points and have beaten Palace, or even more remarkably 15 or 17 points having avoided defeat in all four, it's game on.

The idea of finishing above Crystal Palace feels like fantasy (Image: PA)

Brentford at home is Southampton's New Year fixture, on January 4, before the Premier League takes a weekend break for the FA Cup third round's return.

The complexion of the season could have changed and a glimmer of hope may inspire a more aggressive approach in the winter transfer window.

READ MORE: Who could leave Saints in January to free up new transfers?

Then, it will be down to Saints delivering under pressure in the six-point matches against the few clubs with squads more closely their equal. 

They failed to do that in the first half of the campaign and there is no reason, other than blind hope, to have any confidence they will the second time around.

And asking them to win three in a row when the club has managed only one in their last 28 in the Premier League feels like an unreasonable request.

But for it to even be a conversation, they need to give themselves a platform to build from and they need to do it now. Go on, give yourselves a chance.

Spurs languish in 11th but, like Saints, appear to be backing their manager through the tough period as they visit St Mary's with a growing injury list.

Dr. Tottenham will see you now - Steve Grant, 2024. (Image: PA)

Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven went off injured in their last match, as did Brennan Johnson, while Yves Bissouma picked up a fifth yellow card.

Guglielmo Vicario, Richarlison, Ben Davies and Wilson Odobert have long-term injury issues while Rodrigo Bentancur is serving a seven-game ban.

In their first 11, Tottenham faced an average of just 9.6 shots and 3.4 on target per game. In the last four, they’ve faced 18.8 shots and 6.8 on target per game.

Saints have lost just one of their last six home league games against Tottenham (W2 D3) and their run of scoring in each of the last 15 league games is their longest against any opponent in the competition’s history.

Both Ipswich Town and Leicester have won points against Spurs - but is it going to happen for Saints and would it spark a turnaround? Probably not.