SOMETIMES in football a win is more than a win – it’s a statement.

You may still only get three points for it on the day, but what it brings to the team can be far more valuable in the long run than just that.

Saints made something of a statement at the weekend when they smashed Walsall 5-1.

But they outdid that – and then some – against Huddersfield last night.

A thumping margin of victory over the Saddlers was something to rightly be pretty pleased with.

They might not be the world’s greatest team but they still sit in the top half of the League One table, which underlines the fact they are no mugs at this level.

The size of the scoreline gave the rest of the division something to mull over and no doubt raised a few eyebrows.

But to go out in the very next game and blow Huddersfield away is something altogether different.

Lee Clark’s side are a mighty fine attacking prospect and, though their away form has been indifferent taken over the course of the entire season, they are a very genuine promotion prospect.

You would think they have a great chance of making the playoffs and that means the chance of a step up to the Championship.

Saints aspire to that coveted sixth place in the table and they showed the rest of the division there is no reason for them to give up on it yet this season.

If Alan Pardew had sensed some negativity after the goalless draw at Wycombe last midweek then it was only because the fans, everybody who watches the team in fact, knows these last two results, and performances, are what they are capable of.

The draw at Wycombe does underline their problems at the moment when they go away to tricky pitches compared to the comfort and green grass of St Mary’s.

But it’s for that reason people were frustrated – and it was frustration from most, rather than negativity.

Saints have shown the fans and the rest of League One now what they are capable of.

In short it’s quick, attacking football and scoring bucketloads of goals.

Once again last night, just like Norwich found, just like Walsall found, the Saints attacking force assembled by Pardew is awesome in League One.

Defences can’t handle their power, their skill, their clinical nature.

Add that to an ever improving central midfield, a solid backline and top class goalkeeper and Saints have much to be content about.

They got off to a rip-roaring start against Huddersfield, taking the lead on 16 minutes.

Jason Puncheon got down to the right by-line and stood up a cross into the area.

Rickie Lambert met it with a trademark header that bounced in off the underside of the bar.

Kelvin Davis made an important save five minutes later to keep Saints level, beating away Lee Novak’s acrobatic effort with a strong left arm.

That stop may seem irrelevant in the context of the scoreline but it was not in the context of the game because from there Saints never looked back.

It was 2-0 on 24 minutes, Dean Hammond this time crossing from the right and finding Lee Barnard.

He was slightly off balance having to stretch behind him for the ball but still looped his header over the keeper.

Puncheon made it virtually game over ten minutes later as he broke into the right side of the area, cut back on to his left foot and curled the ball into the bottom corner via the inside of the post for 3-0.

It would have been even more empathetic before half time had Alex Smithies not tipped Lambert’s 30-yard left wing free kick on to the top of the bar and over, while Adam Lallana couldn’t quite turn home after the Huddersfield keeper had spilled Barnard’s shot.

The second half was more of the same.

It took until 76 minutes for another goal, but it had looked on the cards.

When it arrived it was Hammond who flicked Puncheon’s corner across Smithies for a goal that his lung-busting runs to support the front men had deserved.

Sub Papa Waigo put the icing on the cake with four minutes remaining.

He was through on goal and, though he had rounded Smithies, the keeper managed to get his fingertips to the ball.

However, with the keeper lying prone, Waigo got to the loose ball, swivelled and quickly fired low into the net.

There was even a chance for Lambert to get a short breather at the end of the game and 16-yearold debutante Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain – the son of former Pompey and England winger Mark – to sidefoot over the bar only moments after coming off the bench.

Saints have sounded out a warning to the rest of the division – they write them off at their peril.

The statement they have made, and the fear factor they are building up around some of their most prolific names, could be enough to yield points even when performances dip.