IT'S FUNNY how quickly things can change in the world of football.

Last summer almost every team outside of the top five were hoping to 'do a Saints'.

They had finished an excellent eighth in the league, reached an FA Cup final and got themselves into Europe.

Last November Saints were still riding high in the league and played Aston Villa at Villa Park.

Villa were on a terrible run and were looking over their shoulders with the fans fearing relegation.

Saints had a nightmare afternoon, got turned over and now five months on are in the bottom half while Villa chase a Champions League spot. Suddenly, you can hear managers already 'wanting to do a Villa' next season.

When you looked at the two teams on Saturday there isn't a lot of difference.

Take into account Saints' injury problems as well and you have two very similar teams.

That's the case with most sides who aren't Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, and probably Liverpool and Newcastle as well.

So the question every manager is trying to find the answer to is how to get that edge to finish top of the rest of the pack.

There's probably a combination of things, but different managers have different philosophies.

Paul Sturrock has spoken of the need to trim his squad, pointing to the example of 13 or 14 frontline players that Villa currently have.

David O'Leary complained after the game that his squad was far too small and he needs more bodies.

The truth is that Saints need to cut away some of the dead wood around the squad - the players that don't get a regular game - to free up the wages and resources to bring in three or four quality players.

These are the sort of players that can walk into a Premiership side and instantly improve the quality.

We're not talking about exciting youngsters - Saints have plenty of them.

We're not talking about taking a gamble on Nationwide League players.

But instead top drawer players. Big names.

When you look at other teams that can attract top name players then you have to say the only thing preventing Saints doing the same - providing they can shed a few names off their wage bill to compensate - will be their ambition.

With the transfer market still in a depressed state, big name players are available on free transfers and loans.

Yes, you have to pay good wages and you cannot ever risk the long-term future of the club.

But a couple of years ago you would have thought nothing of splashing out £2m on a Division Two player and paying average wages in the hope they came good.

Now you can get proven world class internationals for free or on loan for year but have to invest the missing transfer fee in wages.

It's a gamble signing any player, but if Saints want to progress then it's quality they need.

There was some quality on show from both teams at St Mary's at the weekend in what was a highly entertaining game.

Anders Svensson and Fabrice Fernandes both had something to prove, and both did well on the wings.

There were plenty of early half-chances for both teams in a fluent first half with Antti Niemi producing two good saves.

The first was from Liam Ridgewell's far post header supplied by Lee Hendrie's corner while the second was a belter from Gareth Barry's well-struck, curling 20 yard effort.

For Saints, Kevin Phillips spun his marker and had a free sight of goal 12 yards out but missed the target altogether.

Referee Howard Webb was at the centre of controversy throughout and awarded Villa a penalty seven minutes before half-time.

Nobody was quite sure what it was for but it was decided a push on Ridgewell was the reason.

There was shock over the award at St Mary's and Dennis Rofe was later sent to watch the remainder of the game from the stands after a fierce argument with the officials, but Juan Pablo Angel kept his cool and slotted home.

They say these things even themselves out, but rarely does it take just seven minutes to do so.

Right on the stroke of half time, James Beattie and Svensson linked-up to play through Phillips who made no mistake this time and buried the chance. The linesman's flag stayed down even though he was clearly offside.

The second half was more of a gritty affair and Beattie missed a great chance just 50 seconds after the re-start.

Svensson came close for Saints while Ulises De La Cruz produced two good chances which Angel should have taken advantage of. The same could be said of sub Peter Crouch who missed a free header late on as well.

There's not much to choose between the teams - but where they finish next season probably depends on the success of the work done over the summer.