Saints are just one clean sheet away from equalling their best ever defensive start to the season – the year they finished second in the top flight.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men have conceded just two goals in their opening six top flight matches.

The last time they managed to go seven league games with just two in the against column was back in 1983/84 when the club achieved their best ever top flight finish of second, just three points behind champions Liverpool.

To equal that remarkable post-war record Saints will need to perform another shut out against Swansea at St Mary’s this weekend.

Pochettino is confident in his side and their ability to keep the run going.

He said: “I can’t speak for the period before I was here but from the moment I arrived we were one of the teams that conceded the least goals.

“This is my first season with the team starting with an actual pre-season with the team.

“We have changed and signed some new players.

“We are reaping the benefits of our work and our belief in how we want to play.

“We just want to keep working in this way, keep our good run and keep on this way.”

The only teams to have scored against Saints this season are Sunderland and Norwich, with blanks recorded against West Brom, West Ham, Liverpool and Crystal Palace.

Back in 1983/84 the team, under the leadership of Lawrie McMenemy, started the season with a hat-trick of clean sheets against Nottingham Forest, QPR and Arsenal before a 1-1 draw with Liverpool.

They followed that up with 2-0 and 3-0 wins over Sunderland and Manchester United respectively before losing 1-0 at Aston Villa.

Pochettino has made no secret over the formula for Saints’ success so far this season, which sees them riding high in the early season table.

He explained: “Our set-up is very clear – we want to defend keeping possession of the ball.

“We want to be as effective on the attack, to be as far away from our end of the pitch as possible.

“That’s how we want to play, that’s how we’re playing and we’re pleased with how we’re playing.

“We also know we are running a certain risk when we play that way because we might be giving the ball away but it’s our philosophy, it’s how we want to play and we want to believe we can play and succeed in playing that way.”