Saints go into their last three games of the season looking to finish with a flourish and secure not only 8th position but their best ever points total in a Premier league season on two fronts.

In the Premier League age Saints highest total of points in a season is a little complicated, if we take a 42 game season then the 54 points amassed in 1994/95 is their top score, but nowadays we only play 38 games and if we take that as the benchmark then the 52 points we achieved in 2000/01 when we finished 10th and the same total was replicated in 2002/03 when we hit 8th spot for what along with an FA cup final appearance remains our best ever season overall in perhaps the last three decades.

So we do in fact have a joint target to aim for, 3 points would see us equal our best haul for 38 games but might not see us equal our best ever position in the Premier League, whereas 5 points would also equal our best ever total per se and would probably assure us of that 8th spot, ideally we would get 6 points and smash both.

Of course there is a little bit of deflation amongst Saints fans in the way the season has petered out, it has been one of ups and down in terms of league form, we seem to have racked up our points in short bursts interspersed by periods of poor form, the draw at Villa is at the end of a six game run that has seen us pick up only 7 points, the sad thing is that if we had played to our potential in these games we would be sat just behind Man Utd and fancy our chances of overhauling them in a last day show down and perhaps sneaking 7th which if Arsenal dont make the Champions League but win the FA Cup could have seen us snatch a Europa League spot.

But there is still something to play for and that is a record points total or should i say two record points totals, given our last three games it will be a big ask to hit 54 but it is something to go for.

This season has at times been exciting and at others frustrating, at one time it looked to have been heading for our best ever season in the Premier League without question, indeed it really should have been and we should be looking forward to an FA Cup Final appearance to equal those heady days of 2003, alas its not to be and therefore this season will sit in second place in the rankings in terms of achievement, however it has been a good one and something we can build on for next year.

Photo: Action Images

Zambucco added 11:00 - Apr 22 there's always next season!
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slynch added 13:46 - Apr 22 And they have to get the points off 3 teams who haven't got Moyes as their manager.
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SanMarco added 16:31 - Apr 22 We came second in 1983-84 with 77 points (42 games). Premier League 'records' are all bogus hype created by Sky. The top division of English football has been going for nearly a century and a half and Saints for a large proportion of that time. The 'Premier League era' or basically let's face it the 'Sky era' means nothing. Our record in a 38 game top division season is what we are talking about. If that happened to come under Sky then so what. The current team are better than the team of 2003 but not as good as 83/84 and let's hope we can show that by getting 4 more points, starting with at least a point on Saturday.

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SaintNick added 17:37 - Apr 22 Todays team is "potentially" better than 2003 but hasnt realised that potential totally yet, Gordon Strachan had his team playing to their full potential whereas i dont think ours is, does that make Strachan a better manager than Pochettino ? Again as it stands yes
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davepid added 19:06 - Apr 22 MP hasn't got us playing to our full potential despite 15 months in charge , bringing in new signings last summer and having a core of players young and hanging on his every word . He came out at the start of the season with an impressive game plan but when that fails he can't raise the game plan or vary it. Thanks Mp for all you've done but it's time to go.
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wazzosan added 02:39 - Apr 24 Completely disagree. 1) We are probably playing the best football in the premiership now except possibly Liverpool. 2) We are on track for a record points total. 3) We have broken our transfer record 5 times in the last 18 months. 3) We have the biggest crop of home grown youngsters in the 1st team (compared to any other team in the prem). How can we say it is time for the manager to go? Have we learned no lessons from previous manager-merry-go-rounds? Fans should be over the moon at our accomplishments.

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davepid added 19:58 - Apr 24 Wazoo sawn. 1 why then are we 8 th and could finish lower than that? 3. But have we had value for money out of those 5 signings? 3. Yes agree - something to be very proud off , but Mp can only claim a bit of credit for that. 2 and this might be the most crucial - let's stop comparing ourselves to where we've been , frankly I'm embarrassed when I read this might be our best season since 1983 or since 1994.lets judge ourselves on where we can get to - and this is where the frustration with Mp comes in - we could be several points higher if we had more discipline and maturity.

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