Southampton have caught plenty of attention for their efforts in the Championship this season.
Following the appointment of Russell Martin as manager in the summer, there has been an implementation of his possession based tactics at St Mary’s this season.
That has led to some excellent results for the Saints. Earlier in the campain, they enjoyed a club record 25-match unbeaten run.
However, that has since been followed by four defeats in their last five games in all competitions. As a result, Southampton have now dropped to 4th in the Championship. They are currently five points adrift of the automatic promotion places.
Despite that, it seems as though they have made a big impression on at least one player they have come up against this season.
Yannick Bolasie discusses Saints’ system
Earlier in the campaign, Yannick Bolasie spent a brief spell in the Championship with Swansea City.
The former Everton and Crystal Palace winger joined the Swans in November, remaining there until January. He is now a free agent after exiting the club.
During his time there, Bolasie made a total of 12 appearances in all competitions for the club. Two of those came against Southampton, and they did not go well for Swansea City.
The Saints claimed a 5-0 win over the Welsh club at St Mary’s on Boxing Day. The reverse fixture then saw them win 3-1 on the road the following month, in what proved to be Bolasie’s final Swansea City appearance.
Clearly, that left its mark on Bolasie. Speaking on the FilthyFellas YouTube channel, the 34-year-old was asked who the best team he played in the Championship this season had been.
Responding to that question, he said: “Southampton were. They beat us. They smoked us this year. Two times on the bounce! Southampton have got that system, like I’m saying if I’m playing in that Southampton it’s like ‘oh my days, give me the ball, please!’ Because their wingers are just there, gone!”
Southampton are next in action on Saturday afternoon, when they travel to St Andrew’s to face Birmingham City.
A reminder of how good Southampton are
It has been a tough time for the Saints of late with this run of defeats.
However, that does not take away from the fact that they have been outstanding at times this season.
Their unbeaten run certainly goes to highlight just how big a test they have been for teams throughout the campaign.
With Bolasie and Swansea City coming up against them twice in that period, they got the full brunt of Southampton in top form.
That is something that was evidently hard to live with. Beyond that, Bolasie clearly believes the style of play in one that suits him.
Given the level he has played at – with plenty of Premier League experience – that does seem to suggest that Martin is getting the setup right at St Mary’s.
This therefore, may give Southampton a standard to aim for between now and the end of the campaign.