Ronald Koeman surveyed Saints’ flying start to the season and smiled “nothing is impossible.”

Expectations and dreams are soaring higher than ever at St Mary’s as Saints head into the latest international break still second in the table with a remarkable 25 points from 11 matches.

Only Chelsea are above them while Saints have amassed a healthy gap between themselves and some of the sides who would traditionally expect to be towards the upper echelons of the Premier League.

A 2-0 victory over Leicester meant Saints head into another two week break on a real high, with the fans again singing ‘we’re going to win the league’ at the final whistle.

Koeman said: “It’s a fantastic dream they can have about our team and everybody is enjoying a lot how we are playing and how we are doing and the same for the technical staff, we are enjoying it very much, but we know what is football and we know that we have to keep working.

“Maybe because nothing is impossible.”

Koeman was again asked whether Saints can be contenders for the title, and if they could secure a Champions League place.

“No, I’m not looking too much to the rest of them, maybe only in the aspect that I think I don’t see until now teams much better until Southampton,” he said of the sides around Saints, particularly Chelsea.

“We hope (for a Champions League spot), what we said before is we live game by game and we have to work hard to keep these wins and these points but you never know.”

Koeman is clearly confident his men can keep up their current run of form, even though they have a tough run of fixtures when they return to duty.

“If you have the belief and the lads are doing fantastic, it’s amazing how they work every day and how they have the spirit and it’s really a team and they show that every week,” said the Saints boss.

“In the last few weeks maybe the wins are more difficult but we are Southampton, we are not City, we are not Chelsea who win sometimes very easily.

“We have to fight and we know our qualities and another clean sheet makes a difference and it’s very positive what we are doing until now.

“We have played only 11 games but after 11 games the big teams maybe they have more quality players than we have but I don’t see a lot of difference between the big clubs and how they play and with the programme they have. We can keep this surprise in the season.”