IF there is a team in the Championship this season with a midfield as good as Saints, then I can't wait to see them.

Premiership quality in the Championship - that's the best way to describe them.

And the rest of the side aren't doing too bad either.

Nigel Quashie is an inspirational leader. Against Crewe he was at his very best.

The Scottish international is a destructive force but one that can also pass, shoot and score.

Matt Oakley sits alongside him and now enjoys the freedom to get forward whenever he wants. His passing is still as good as ever.

David Prutton initially looked like a central midfielder trying to do his best on the right side. Now he is starting to seem like a natural out there.

Then there is the jewel in the crown at present - Djamel Belmadi.

The Algerian is a typical Harry Redknapp transfer, a trialist few have heard of that comes in and makes a difference.

Belmadi is clever and coy. He is also quick, at times direct and possesses quick feet and the ability to fire in a decent shot.

Saints' midfield has worked in tandem this season.

No disrespect to the defence, who have performed superbly as well - as four straight clean sheets and five in six games testify - but they don't have to deal with that much because it doesn't get through the middle.

Rather they have to deal with regulation high balls when teams, who realise they can't play through Saints' midfield, try to by-pass them by going over them.

But the other side is the creativity.

Crewe aren't the greatest side in the division by a long stretch, but Saints' midfield created so many opportunities on Saturday it could have been a cricket score.

And they can finish them too.

Again it was up to the midfielders to score that goals that ensured a win.

The only disappointing thing about Saints at the moment is the forwards not scoring enough.

No wonder Harry Redknapp wanted to sign Clinton Morrison.

Kenwyne Jones (two goals in five league games and Ricardo Fuller (none in four) have been working hard, but a 20-goal-a-season striker would have had a hatful against Crewe.

That is where the worry lies.

Saints' midfield are creating the openings, but it's unrealistic to expect them to take them as well throughout the season.

This is where Redknapp needs to strengthen before the transfer window closes.

Or he needs one of his frontmen to step up and be that goalscorer.

Dexter Blackstock might be able to do.

He's a born striker, but is still young and learning the game.

Brett Ormerod, once he gets fully fit, will get a few - and if only Marian Pahars could make a comeback.

But at the moment the burden is being shared throughout the side.

Saints dominated Crewe from first to last and took the lead after just ten minutes.

It was unsurprisingly Belmadi that did the damage.

He picked up the ball midway inside the Crewe half and ran at their defence.

They backed off to the edge of the area and, as he closed in, he quickly shifted the ball to the right, creating himself a yard in which to hit it.

And he didn't so much fire it into the top corner as stroke it in.

As chance after chance came and went, and total dominance was ensured, it took Saints until 66 minutes to double their lead.

Again it was Belmadi at the heart of it.

He got to the left by-line and cut the ball back. Three Crewe defenders went for it but all ended up in a heap with the ball still rolling and Quashie had time to line-up a first time shot into the far corner.

In between, Jones had fired a shot against the post while Darren Powell's header had the same end result.

Antti Niemi could have stayed in the changing room for the amount of work he had to do. Again, not one single save in the entire match.

His defence were tight, Powell always snubbing out any hint of danger while Tomasz Hajto, Claus Lundekvam and Danny Higginbotham played like people who didn't expect to concede.

Normally football managers like to build from the back.

Saints, though, have built from the middle. And suddenly they look a very decent team.