IT COULDN’T have gone much better, could it?

Three wins in four games. Unbeaten. And just six points off Manchester United in fifth. It certainly was a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for Saints.

That’s what a bit of belief, a back to basics approach and Danny Ings can do to a team that looked bereft of confidence not so long ago.

First of all, credit has to go to manager Ralph Hasenhuttl for steering this side to pick up results that no one saw coming.

It’s no secret that he experienced some low moments after the defeats to Leicester and Everton but, in fairness, he accepted his mistakes and made sure he didn’t make them again.

This led to him reverting to his favoured 4-2-2-2 formation which proved to be so successful for him in Germany with RB Leipzig.

Not only did it help the Austrian.

It also made things so much clearer for the players, who only a couple of months ago appeared confused on the pitch.

Going back to basics meant they knew their tasks for the game and were able to focus on executing them to the best of their ability.

This was evident against fellow relegation battlers Aston Villa – the first example of Saints punishing a team this season.

How many times had we seen Saints miss chance after chance in a game and then end up losing it?

I’ll tell you. It was too many.

However, at Villa Park, that changed.

An Ings double either side of a Jack Stephens header saw Saints run out 3-1 winners without it looking like too much of a challenge.

And if that was an important victory, they followed it up with an even better one just days later at Stamford Bridge.

Hasenhuttl was afforded the luxury of being able to rest star man Ings against Chelsea and still win the match.

Michael Obafemi’s individual brilliance and a beautifully worked team goal saw off Frank Lampard’s side in excellent fashion.

But, perhaps most importantly, Saints didn’t even look nervous as Chelsea started piling on the pressure.

We’ve seen Hasenhuttl’s side concede late goals, but they set their stool out and made sure that wasn’t going to happen.

You could sense after this result that something had changed within the dressing room and that things looked like they were only going to get better.

There was a brief step back into reality at home to Crystal Palace when they went a goal down inside the first half.

However, Ings, yes him again, did what he does best to make sure the club kept their unbeaten Christmas run going to earn a point.

And, but for a couple of brilliant saves from the Palace goalkeeper, Saints could have gone on to take all three points.

Many fancied Tottenham to do a job on Saints, but with the St Mary’s side’s new-found confidence, they didn’t look troubled by the north London outfit.

In the aftermath of the New Year’s Day win, a stat was doing the rounds on Twitter that pointed out Saints’ 25 points after 21 games is the most they’ve had since Ronald Koeman’s side had in 2015/16.

Although no one expects them to go on and finish sixth, and there is still plenty of work to be done, the festive period should give Hasenhuttl, the players and fans plenty to be optimistic about for 2020.