You often win titles through displays of dazzling quality. You avoid relegation with performances of grit, determination and keeping a cool head under pressure.

Saints showed all of those qualities in defeating Leicester 2-1.

With four of the bottom five heading into the weekend playing each other, this always looked like a significant day for Saints.

Even though their fixture was clearly tougher, there was a chance they might start to look a little cut adrift of relegation rivals, and the importance of the run at the end of January and start of February would intensify further.

That was, of course, unless they beat Leicester.

The Foxes have been a little unpredictable – see losing to Cardiff but beating Manchester City and Chelsea in recent weeks.

But even so when Yan Valery was sent off to reduce Saints to ten men before half time with just a one-goal lead to their name, it was difficult to see a positive result.

There followed the most important moment of the match, it might even be of the season, as Shane Long’s remarkable persistence gave him the chance to get in a shot that put Saints 2-0 up.

At half time both managers had the chance to prepare their sides for what was to come.

For Ralph Hasenhuttl it was a case of reorganising and imploring his side to remain switched on. Don’t get dragged out of position, don’t overcommit going forward, sit deep, stay compact, give Leicester nothing through the middle.

For Claude Puel you would have imagined it would be to get the ball out wide and stretch the play, though there was precious little evidence of that on the pitch.

Saints won’t care, but Leicester really did play into their hands, in the same way Chelsea had done previously.

Hasenhuttl has got Saints well drilled defensively, and playing through the narrow central channel, or chipping balls into the box from poor angles, just won’t do it against them these days. You need something more.

That is part of what Hasenhuttl has instilled in his team, and the more it works the more you can sense the belief growing.

This was a Saints team hampered by a string of injuries and suspensions, but still they got the job done.

Discipline was key, but so was calmness. Saints showed it all over the pitch. In defence they didn’t stray. In attack they chased and collected cheap free kicks to break up the play.

It was textbook stuff.

Another tricky game is out of the way, and it’s three points on the board for just the fourth time this season.

Not only that but more winnable games for the teams around Saints have passed by and it is Hasenhuttl’s men making forward progress.