SAINTS spent the early part of this season talking up their play-off chances. They may now struggle to play them down.

Four back-to-back league wins, five in all competitions if you count the draw against Torquay that became a victory on penalties, underlines Saints’ form.

They are absolutely flying – so much so that fans are looking up the League One table and dreaming.

At the start of the season a consolidation campaign would have been acceptable.

To wipe out the ten-point deduction quick enough to avoid a relegation battle and then to settle into mid-table would have been quite fine, assuming there were signs of progress.

It was next season that a realistic promotion charge should take place.

Saints, though, have always had other ideas.

They have always believed in the quality of management and playing staff at the club and felt a tilt at getting out of this division at the first time of asking was a difficult but achievable aim.

Talking that up a bit has helped the club attract supporters into the ground, no doubt about that.

It also seems to have instilled a little extra belief into the players as well, which is a very positive thing.

The only trouble now is that Saints need to contain expectations a little.

The last thing they need is too much extra pressure.

Victory over MK Dons marked an important point in the season.

Saints have proved they can dispatch lesser teams with ruthless efficiency in recent weeks.

Now they had another in form side at home, and one with extra quality.

They proved they can dispatch them too.

What you have to like about Alan Pardew is that he stares at the challenge head on.

Ask him now about reaching the play-offs and his answer will probably be little different to the one he gave before this winning run.

‘It’s a long way off still, but why not?’ he might say.

If you’re a professional footballer you should strive for the best results and the best outcomes possible, so why not aim for the playoffs?

If you can’t handle that extra pressure and that extra expectation then as a player you will be no use to Saints in the long run because they want to go places, if not this season then next.

That attitude is what is driving this Saints form.

That attitude is in the players – you can see it on the pitch, you can sense it, almost smell it, at the training ground.

It’s an unmistakable stench to people who have played sport themselves.

It’s confidence, it’s belief, it’s fearing no one.

It is, in a word, winning.

Saints proved they can do it the hard way against MK Dons as well.

They totally dominated the first half but their 4-5-1 formation didn’t provide much cutting edge.

Of the wide men Adam Lallana tested Willy Gueret twice early on while Papa Waigo did get the ball in the net but was offside, a position he found himself in far too often once again.

But for all Saints’ dominance, the lack of a breakthrough was punished when MK Dons took the lead moments before half time.

Radhi Jaidi gave away a needless free kick 20 yards out to the left of centre.

Jason Puncheon stepped up and curled an effort up and round the outside of the wall and beat Kelvin Davis diving to his right.

That was not only Dons’ first shot on target of the half but was to prove their only shot on target of the entire match.

You thought that Pardew would change the system at half-time.

Though it is only us purists that get bogged down by formations, 4- 4-2 will probably be Saints’ home formation for the rest of the season, injuries to personnel dictating of course, but he opted to give 4-5-1 another ten minutes.

After MK Dons looked incredibly comfortable he did change it with David Connolly and Michail Antonio coming on.

The former added a touch of class, albeit he didn’t get the hattrick he might have, while the latter turned the game on its head.

Antonio is very raw when it comes to a final pass, cross or shot but has the natural ingredients to terrorise defences.

He has searing pace and great skill and the things he hasn’t got can be taught.

Antonio is not long out of nonleague and, though that shows on occasions, he looks a real prospect, a rough diamond to be worked on.

He scared the MK Dons defence half to death and that opened up space all over the place which Saints exploited.

Saints got themselves level on 56 minutes with a lovely move.

Morgan Schneiderlin sprayed the ball out to the right and found Antonio who laid it straight back into the path of Lloyd James.

His first time cross found Dean Hammond unmarked at the far post and he sidefooted home.

Saints captured the lead on 74 minutes when Lallana dummied a free kick on the right by-line and James cut it back.

It was straight off the training ground and worked perfectly.

Rickie Lambert was back peddling, found himself in time and space and sidefooted home first time from ten yards.

MK Dons did squeeze a little late pressure on Saints, David McCracken putting wide a free header from a corner.

But that winning habit made you rarely fear for the three points.

Having missed a couple of sharp half chances, Connolly made it two in two for him deep into stoppage time when Dean Lewington’s poor attempted clearance fell into his path and from close range the striker made no mistake.

Saints may still be in the relegation zone but their sights are firmly trained a lot higher up than fifth from bottom.