Mid-season report: Southampton

It proved to be a busy summer for the Saints with the likes of Steven Davis, Nathaniel Clyne, Maya Yoshida and Jay Rodriguez joining them in the Premier League.

However, it was the club-record signing of Gaston Ramirez that turned the most heads, with the Uruguayan arriving for a figure of around £11m from Bologna.

There were no major outgoings for the club in the summer, but they still faced a difficult task to secure Premier League safety after a fine campaign in the Championship.

Boss Nigel Adkins came under pressure in the early stages of the season, but an upturn in form took meant that he did not become the first managerial casualty of the season.

Here, Sports Mole dissects the club's campaign thus far as they attempt to hang onto their Premier League status.

August

The Premier League season began in encouraging fashion despite suffering a 3-2 defeat to Manchester City on the opening weekend of the campaign. They led 2-1 at the Etihad with the match entering the latter stages, but were eventually beaten by two late strikes.

However, they suffered a disappointing home defeat to Wigan Athletic in their second league fixture, a team that they would surely be battling to stay in the league. It was not all doom and gloom, however, with the Saints booking their spot in the next round of the League Cup with a 4-1 win over Stevenage.

September

September began with a 3-2 defeat to Manchester United, but in keeping with their impressive performance against City, they twice led before Robin van Persie secured all the points with a late header. However, their winless run continued when they were thumped 6-1 by Arsenal at the Emirates.

Their first league win did arrive, however, when they were 4-1 winners over Aston Villa. They then made it two wins on the bounce with a 2-0 success over Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup.

The month did end in disappointment, however, with a 3-1 loss to Everton. A run of just one win from their opening six matches left them in the relegation zone entering October.

October

The month began with an encouraging 2-2 draw against Fulham, but they then suffered back-to-back defeats against West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur as their defensive troubles continued.

Yoshida and Jose Fonte were struggling to come to terms with the pace of the league, while the chopping and changing of the goalkeepers left the club unable to put any kind of consistency together. The month also ended in League Cup disappointment when they were beaten 3-0 by Leeds United.

There were suggestions that Adkins would be relieved of his position with Harry Redknapp ready and waiting, but the boss was given the dreaded vote of confidence from those above him.

November

November began with a 2-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion, but that proved to be their only defeat of the month. They secured a point at home to Swansea City one week later before recording a vital three points in a 3-1 win over Queens Park Rangers, who were still searching for their first three points of the season.

The month ended with a 2-0 home success over Newcastle United as they moved out of the relegation zone for the first time since the opening weekend of the season. Rickie Lambert was impressing along with skipper Adam Lallana.

December

December began with a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool, but they recovered with all three points against Reading, who dropped to the bottom of the table as a result.

Their next match was due to be against Chelsea on December 15, but the Blues' involvement in the Club World Cup meant that the Saints had a week off in the Premier League.

They then welcomed Sunderland to St Mary's on the weekend before Christmas, but a single strike from Steven Fletcher was enough to hand the Black Cats all three points.

An away trip to Fulham awaited on Boxing Day. They fell behind to a Dimitar Berbatov strike early on, but a late Lambert penalty secured a share of the spoils to leave them one point outside of the relegation zone.