KEVIN Keegan insists Saints thoroughly deserve another season in the Premier League after the stylish way they have tackled their first campaign back in the top flight.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side are on the brink of wrapping up safety, as they go into their final two games with a fourpoint cushion to the relegation zone.

Former Saints star Keegan reckons they will survive and admits he has been both surprised and impressed with some of their football this term, although he believes talk of a winning a place in the Champions League within a few years is unrealistic.

“I like the way they play. There’s a few teams that have surprised you this year and one of them is Southampton,” he said.

“The clubs coming up now are not trying to kick their way out of this division or overpower teams. They’re actually coming up already with a good brand of football.

“I saw Southampton play Man City, when they deservedly won, and I saw them give (Manchester) United a good game. I think they’ve been very impressive.

“They’ve always been well worth watching, good value for money and a real good team.”

The 62-year-old added: “You look at them now and, although they’re not mathematically safe at the moment, I think they are, and I think they thoroughly deserve the right to play in the Premier League again. I think they’ve brought something to it.”

Keegan, though, is urging caution when it comes to the club’s expectations for the next few seasons.

Goalkeeper Artur Boruc has already said a top-four finish is not out of reach for Saints, while manager Mauricio Pochettino asked “Why in a couple of years? It might be next year,” when quizzed recently about those ambitions.

While Keegan stressed that he would love to be proved wrong, he believes Saints need to keep their feet on the ground.

“It’s unrealistic. I think, to be honest with you, that’s when the expectation overtakes reality,” he said.

“That Champions League, there’s teams like Liverpool, with all their experience and their finances, which are greater than Southampton, there’s teams like Spurs not guaranteed to get in.

There’s just bigger clubs with bigger finances.

“If you’re talking about Europa League it’s not impossible. But top four, the last ten years it has basically been the same four clubs, give or take one club twice.

“If they said they were going to win a cup in the next ten years I’d say that’s realistic.

“I’m afraid so far the predictions have been good, but that one I think most people look at that and think that’s aiming a bit too high and the expectation level is beyond what they can achieve, I think.

“But I will be the first to be delighted if they prove me wrong.”

Keegan made 80 appearances for Saints, scoring 42 goals, from 1980 to 1982 after Lawrie McMenemy brought him to The Dell in a blockbuster transfer from German side Hamburg.

In those days, Saints were indeed a force at the sharp end of the first division and in the early stages of an unbroken 27-year spell in the top-flight that lasted until 2005.

Although he believes a Champions League push is a bridge too far, Keegan is confident that Saints can now become a mainstay in the top-flight again.

“That’s where we feel they belong,” he said. “I can see them establishing themselves like Stoke, in a different way. If you look back to Stoke three, four or five years ago, people thought they were a team in danger of going down, but people don’t think of Stoke like that anymore.

“West Brom have sort of established themselves, and Southampton could be one of those teams. I think the reality is any top-half finish for a club the size of Southampton in this Premier League now is a great achievement.

“Of course, if they got into Europe it would be like winning the league.”