SAINTS 4 - SPURS 0

An extraordinary coincidence? The curse of St Mary's?

Or maybe, just maybe, are these three distinguished managers - all with strong Southampton links - guilty of under-estimating the quality of Gordon Strachan's current side?

The answer is most certainly the latter.

And the comprehensive evidence of this surely lies in Saturday's awesome 4-0 FA Cup demolition of Tottenham.

From the first whistle to the last, Strachan's men played with a class, conviction and crucially a cutting edge that took them to a whole new level.

Sixth in the league and double humiliation for Hoddle, it doesn't get much better for the fans, who goaded the Tottenham boss throughout with chants of, 'Hoddle, Hoddle, what's the score?'

The former England manager was clearly stunned by the outcome.

"It has hurt us a lot, we didn't deserve anything the way we played," he said.

"But give Southampton credit, they deserved to win the match and played very well, but I've not seen us play as poor as that.

"I can't explain where that sort of performance comes from, because we pride ourselves on the way we pass the ball at this club."

Hoddle might not know the answer, but to anyone who has seen Saints on a regular basis this season, the explanation was obvious.

The phenomenal work-rate and closing down of the ball made it impossible for Tottenham to play, making slower players like Gus Poyet, Teddy Sheringham and Darren Anderton virtual passengers.

The visitors also clearly missed the presence of Dean Richards, who picked up a knee injury in the week, and looked uncertain in defence.

By contrast Saints were confident from the off with Rory Delap and Matt Oakley immediately taking control of the midfield, while Paul Telfer, Fabrice Fernandes and Wayne Bridge offered width in attack.

They took the lead on 13 minutes after Bridge's surging run was halted illegally by Chris Perry just outside the area.

James Beattie fired in a free-kick which bounced in front of goalkeeper Kasey Keller and rebounded for Michael Svensson to prod in.

At 50-1 for the first goal, the Swedish defender surely sent several punters home happy.

Tessem then had a golden opportunity to extend the lead, yet miscontrolled after a glorious Beattie through-ball.

But the Norwegian made no mistake shortly after the interval, when his first-time left-foot shot clinically finished an excellent move which again involved Beattie and Bridge.

Six minutes later and it was 3-0 after Anders Svensson, on as a substitute for the injured Chris Marsden, collected the ball inside his own half and ran a good 40 yards before firing a shot under Keller for his first of the season.

Keller was clearly at fault, but the failings of the men in front to close down another Southampton attack was obvious, although Tessem did make an excellent diverting run.

The frustration for Tottenham's fans was now clear and arrests were made as some began attempting to get onto the pitch.

They couldn't have fared much worse than their team and had they not been kept so busy, the Hampshire Constabulary might also have been tempted to investigate events on the football pitch.

Deception? Fraud? Saints were certainly ensuring Tottenham resembled anything but a football team.

By the time the fourth went in on 80 minutes, there were no worries about any more trouble from fans as the visitors' end was now deserted.

The final goal, deservedly, went to Beattie, who had been magnificent throughout.

It was his 14th in just 15 league and cups and came at the second attempt after another crisp passing move involving Oakley, Anders Svensson and a pin-point cross from substitute Kevin Davies.

Saves by Keller from Fernandes, both the Svenssons and Beattie stopped further Tottenham embarrassment, with only Robbie Keane offering any threat in response.

The Republic of Ireland international went close with a deflected shot, a half-volley and then dragged another effort wide.

He was also denied by a fantastic save from Antti Niemi after skipping past challenges from Telfer and Claus Lundekvam.

This chance perhaps best summed up Tottenham's evening as a swarm of determined Saints players reacted instantly to block follow-up shots from Sheringham and Taricco.

Throughout Hoddle tried desperately to get his team back in the game, switching his formation from 3-5-2 to 4-4-2 and then finally to 4-3-3.

But nothing worked, and in the end, he left for north London with one formation ringing loudly in his ears - 4-0 to the Saints.

FINAL VERDICT:

This was Saints' best display of the season. For the first time, their now customary defensive and midfield platform was fully matched by wave upon wave of brilliant attacking play.