WHAT a difference a year makes.

It was little over 12 months ago that Saints last travelled to Swindon.

On that occasion it was a League One game and Saints, limping badly following the departure of Alan Pardew, suffered a miserable 1-0 defeat.

That came only days after Swindon had beaten Saints 3- 0 at St Mary’s. Fast forward to last night and the contrast could barely be any starker.

Nigel Adkins’ side arrived a Championship team, and a flying one at that. The Robins had been relegated in the meantime and were struggling at the foot of League Two.

In the space of a year they had gone from being equals to poles apart.

Adkins opted to mix and match his team, with a few first teamers having a last run out before the international break alongside some fringe players who got a much needed game.

It was the ideal opportunity to play them – better than a reserve style game can ever be, keeping them sharp in the heat of a competitive match should they be needed for league duty.

However, to call the match competitive may be somewhat overstating the case. Perhaps physically it was but the gulf in class, particularly in the first half when the game was won, was massive, a little like comparing the River Itchen to the Amazon.

It also gave Adkins a chance to assess the likes of Lee Holmes and Jonathan Forte and the pairing of Aaron Martin and Dan Seaborne ahead of the close of the transfer window.

The club have been after a left sided centre half and another striker over the summer months. A whole host of deals have been on the cards and fallen through and with deadline day now upon us it is last chance saloon – well, until the emergency loan window opens anyway.

Every fan will have their own opinion over which positions Saints should strengthen but they probably do need to add extra bodies. The great start has been achieved with a relatively small number of players and, though Adkins does have a squad, it’s not the biggest to sustain a long and gruelling Championship season.

At some stage injuries and suspensions will surely kick in and then the squad will get a real test. You don’t want an unmanageable number of players but just enough, of the appropriate quality, to make sure you are not caught short.

The fringe players did their case no harm at Swindon as Saints cruised to their win in a largely one sided encounter. After a brief opening rally from Swindon, Saints got their foot on the ball and took complete control.

They looked to pass the ball out from the back and stretch the play out wide from the first whistle and they were simply too good in possession for the Robins.

Adam Lallana almost gave Saints the lead on ten minutes when Forte got down the right, cut back a cross that was dummied by Guly Do Prado.

The ball came to Lallana but his left footed first time effort from the edge of the area went agonisingly wide of the post with Phil Smith beaten.

It only took another seven minutes before Saints did get the opener though, Lee Holmes with time and space on the right to cut back onto his left foot and measure a cross into the six yard box that picked out Do Prado who made no mistake with a flicked header that helped the ball on its way.

After Forte had dragged a decent chance wide of the target he got himself a goal on 30 minutes. It was another soft one from a Swindon point of view as the Saints striker was picked out by Do Prado’s pass and a firm shot was allowed by Smith to squirm under his body for 2-0.

Matt Ritchie provided a rare Swindon bright spot with a cross that flashed across the face of goal but nobody could get a touch to turn it home while Jack Cork and Forte also went close, as did Smith with a flailing punch that threatened to drop in his own net.

Sub Medhi Kerrouche also might have been red carded before the break. He had already been booked for throwing the ball away when he chopped down Morgan Schneiderlin right on the whistle but the referee, somewhat generously, waved the teams off.

The second half was a little closer. Swindon changed their tactics and Saints sat a little deep but still the class difference was still obvious.

No matter what possession Swindon got, they rarely looked like scoring. Leon Clarke might have done four minutes after the restart but headed wide when he should have done better from a right wing cross.

Schneiderlin almost added a third for Saints from a smart free kick routine that saw Do Prado’s pass laid off first time by Lallana but Smith got down at the Frenchman’s feet to block.

Swindon gave themselves hope with just about the only way it seemed they would score – a set piece.

With seven minutes remaining Kerrouche, who probably shouldn’t have still been on the pitch, curled a brilliant free kick from just outside the area on the left side into the opposite top corner for 2-1.

Despite being outclassed for so long, Swindon could have even equalised late on when Clarke had a chance from close range but Bartosz Bialkowski was alert to make the save at his feet.

But Saints made sure of their win and a safe passage to the third round with a goal from sub Rickie Lambert deep into stoppage time as he broke the offside trap, rounded the keeper and slotted home.

It’s been quite a year.