WITH only 30 games left! Like everyone, I was delighted to see Saints go top of the table – even though we all more or less knew it was only for a matter of hours, rather than weeks or months.

But interestingly, because of that position, comments came out from all over the place and I have always been a bit annoyed when people say ‘this happened for the first time in the Premier League’.

It’s as if before the name changed, everything was different.

One of the comments was that it was the first time Saints had been top in the Premier League era.

Fair enough but - as everyone is in these days is getting calls from people in lockdown - it’s good for me personally to hear from some of my old players.

One or two did mention these comments this week and said it was giving people the impression that we were never top in our day.

Someone sent a picture of a league table, which referred to Saints going top for the first time in their 97-year history. It turned out to be from the 1981-82 season. We stayed there for about six weeks before going on to finish seventh.

The best time of course was to finish second, which was at the end of the season in 1983-84 when we were only three points behind Liverpool. That still remains the highest end-of-season finishing position in the club’s history.

I suppose some reporters could hide behind the fact the Premier League only started in 1992 but there was one young gentleman, who said Saints had gone top of the league for the first time in their history.

He was probably not born or in the Infants school in 1982 – fair enough – but I suggest he looks up the records next time.

This time of the year, club managers are never really happy to see their players go off for international games.

I well remember during my time with Graham Taylor, bless him, and England – calls would come in from clubs saying ‘sorry, this player has got injured’.

I remember one call in particular from one of the biggest clubs, where the assistant manager rang up to report one of our best players wouldn’t be coming to play for England.

Graham and I were still sitting, trying to work out who to replace him with, when the phone went again and it was the player himself.

He said: “I believe you’ve had a call. Take no notice. I’m not injured and I am on my way.” He then put the phone down.

Graham and I looked at each other, I said to let me ring him back.

I told the player: “Turn the car around, we obviously want you here but, with club managers, we know the trouble you will have for the rest of the season. Keep quiet and get on with your club work.”

In the case I am talking about, the manager wasn’t English – I’ll leave it to you to guess which of the other British countries he came from!

When a club like ours at Saints has around six players playing for their countries, the club manager is naturally waiting to hear that all of his players will come through fit and well. In fact, they are more than happy if they are only sitting on the bench for their countries.

VAR has of course come into the game from last season but I couldn’t believe when Leeds United’s Patrick Bamford was given offside, because he was pointing to where he wanted his partner to pass the ball for him.

Although his feet were onside, his sleeve was given offside.

Surely the referee or linesman should have allowed the goal to stand?

They lost 4-1 at Crystal Palace but that goal would have made it 1-1 at the beginning.