No matter what you think of Claude Puel, you have to say the guy has some bottle.

While it seems there is a bandwagon of people keen to force him out of his job at St Mary’s, he has not only faced up to speculation and criticism with dignity, but also a lot of courage.

Puel has perhaps been too stubborn at times this season – his refusal to ditch rotation at key moments of the Europa League campaign, and the amount of time he took to eventually change formation.

But right now it seems his head strong attitude and desire to stick by his beliefs is his greatest weapon.

To make seven changes for the game against Middlesbrough, to hand two players first starts for the club, to recall many players who have been left frustrated and marginalised of late, was brave.

If Saints would have lost, it would have looked like stupidity. Puel virtually admitted as much after the game.

But he had the courage of his convictions, even under the most exacting pressure he must have felt in his managerial career – which by the way includes regular Champions League experience with some very big clubs, thus not making him the clueless chancer some seem keen to portray.

Even after the game he remained reserved, but also defiant. This little spark of strength we are seeing now needs to stay for the future, not be extinguished if he gets the chance to continue into next season.

He has justified his record, and says he genuinely cannot understand why there is this is a clamour amongst some for his head.

Puel knows, and admits, things haven’t always been great this season.

But Saints may well finish eighth, despite the strength of the traditional top seven clubs – which was, after all, the best they did under Mauricio Pochettino.

They have got to a major domestic cup final, which they hadn’t managed since 2003.

Yes, the Europa League campaign was below par, and, yes, the football hasn’t always been that exciting, but Puel’s real problem has not been overall results, but how lopsided his team have been in terms of where they have achieved them.

Saints have an impressive away record and, indeed, have played some of their best stuff on the road this season.

At home they have struggled to break out of the kind of tactics that have been effective away from home, and, partly as a consequence, struggled to score goals.

No matter whether you are a manager or player, you want your best performances to come at home where you have 30,000 of your fans watching you every week rather than away, where you have a tiny fraction of that. It is so important to how your success or otherwise is viewed.

When you chuck into the mix that Saints have been missing their best player in Virgil van Dijk, and their main goalscorer in Charlie Austin, for half of the season, and yet they still could finish as ‘best of the rest’, Puel has a point about the effectiveness of his first year at St Mary’s.

He has also developed the club’s young players, as requested, and worked within means and a tight budget, as requested.

Puel has also had to deal with being the only man at St Mary’s front and centre while frustrations over a lack of clarity as to the future off the club away from the pitch have spilled over.

There clearly would have to be progress next season from Puel if he is to stay, it would have to be better than it has been, but you find yourself wondering which manager Saints could have recruited last summer would have achieved all that much more in this campaign?

A bit more, perhaps. A bit worse, perhaps. But Puel’s efforts, on paper even if not always in feeling, seem in the right ball park.

The much changed Saints side put up in a good away performance at the Riverside Stadium.

Boro are pretty awful, hence their relegation, but they still needed beating and were clearly keen for a pressure off finale in front of their own fans.

Saints were solid, compact, well drilled, to a man they worked hard and, despite the reports of unrest, looked together and spirited.

If this was Puel challenging fringe players to go out there and prove why they should be playing, it was good management because it had the desired effect.

The match was not one full of incident, or a great deal of excitement, but Saints clearly had more quality and broke the deadlock three minutes before half time with a well worked goal.

Jordy Clasie played the ball down the right to Shane Long. He cut back to Jay Rodriguez and the striker swept home a wonderful first time right footed finish into the bottom corner from 12 yards out.

Puel, often criticised for substitutions, made a decisive change at the break, introducing Nathan Redmond for Sofiane Boufal.

Redmond was really on song, and ended a slick Saints passing move by cutting in from the left and curling a right footed shot into the opposite top corner for 2-0 on 57 minutes.

It would have been game over seven minutes later had Shane Long not leant back and seen his spot kick clip the top of the bar and sail over when leathering a penalty which he had won after being brought down by Brad Guzan.

The let-off gave Boro a bit of impetus for a final rally in their last home game of the season, and they grabbed a goal back from a set-piece as Patrick Bamford held off Ryan Bertrand to head home a Viktor Fischer inswinging corner from close range.

However, Saints were not to be beaten and did all they needed to to return home with the three points.

It was a victory for the squad, and just reward after battling and spirited displays against Liverpool and Arsenal which yielded just one point.

It was also a victory for Puel, who admirably remains determined to do things his way, even under extreme pressure.

If he can see out this situation, and he is backed going forward, his position will be so much stronger for it.