A little over four months ago Saints won 1-0 at Swansea courtesy of a freak last minute goal, a lot of water has gone under the Itchen Bridge since that day.

As Saints players acknowledged the travelling support after the game that day who could have predicted the upheaval to come, indeed not only has the manager left but 8 of the 18 players either on the pitch or on the bench are not at the club at present and only 7 of that number are likely to be in the 18 at the Liberty today, perhaps highlighting the enormity of the task that faced Ronald Koeman during the summer.

The fact that we go to Wales in good shape with the signs being that our squad now is actually better than that of last season is testimony to the great job Koeman has done in such a short time.

This is perhaps the biggest test of the season so far for Koeman's side, of course the opening day trip to Anfield was tougher, but in that game it was almost a free hit for Koeman, his squad wasn't yet complete and there was no pressure to win as Liverpool started the game as odds on favourites, in fact the actual result was perhaps secondary to the way that Saints performed, yes it would have been nice to pick up a point or three, but that game was more about sticking a marker in the ground and showing that the squad was good enough.

Now we go to Swansea a team that has had a great start to the season and who over the past couple of years in the Premier have established themselves in just the sort of way that we are looking to do so, now we have to go and burst their bubble whilst at the same time inflating our own just a little more.

Like ourselves the Swans have a bit to prove as well, there are those that say that they have had a lucky start to the season, playing clubs that were either in turmoil ie Man Utd or relegation fodder in West Brom or Burnley and that when they came up against someone good in Chelsea they found their level.

That is unfair on Swansea who are a solid outfit with ex Saints player Gary Monk at the helm building on the foundations set by his predecessors rather than ripping it apart and doing things differently.

So for Saints this will be a good test of where we are, teams are always going to lose games so a defeat wont mean we are in disarray as much as a win although keeping us in the top four won't mean either we are serious title challengers, but the manner in which we conduct ourselves will give good pointers towards the rest of the season.

So far those points have been good, so we are capable of going to Swansea and like last year winning, the hope is we repeat our great form of the past weeks.

The question though is what side will Ronald Koeman put out, again long term injuries aside he has a full complement to choose from although whispers from the grapevine have suggested that Toby Alderweireld might have a problem that could rule him out, if that is the case then Koeman has to decide whether to go for a full debut for Florin Gardos or bring back Yoshida.

The big question will be in midfield, does Koeman go for another attacking formation and start with Shane Long or does he go for something a little more cautious and return Wanyama to the side.

Swansea's main threat at the moment is ex Saint Nathan Dyer who has started the season in fine form, especially at home where after scoring the winner in the 1-0 defeat of Burnley he followed that up with a brace in the 3-0 win over West Brom, Saints have to counter that threat on the wing.

The good news is that in Ryan Bertrand Saints have a left back who has pace and the nous to handle Dyer, but Bertrand will need the cover in front of him and that is where Dusan Tadic will have to work hard, if he does so and replicates his attacking form of the season so far then this is a battle that can be won and if we do so we will be going a long way towards making sure that a good performance is rewarded with at least a point hopefully three.

What we do know from the way that Koeman works is that he will have studied the opposition and will put out a team to suit the way he sees the game going that will balance countering the opposition thread as well as imposing ourselves on the game.

But will Koeman throw a little surprise into the equation, with Sadio Mane having arrived in Southampton yesterday and clutching his work permit, the temptation could be to get him involved with the squad, in truth Koeman has nothing to lose, although Mane has not worked with his team mates or perhaps even met them properly yet, this is not a problem for an attacking player as it would be in other areas of the pitch.

Given the fact that as he gets to picking the last couple of subs, Koeman is down to Mayuka or Gallagher, putting Mane on the bench is not really that much of a gamble, indeed it could be a nice get out of jail card should we need it.

All being well I would see the team as being

Forster

Clyne Alderweireld, Fonte, Bertrand

Davis, Schneiderlin, Wanyama, Cork, Tadic

Pelle

Subs Davis, JWP, Long, Gardos, Yoshida, plus 2 from Mane, Mcqueen, Mayuka, Targett, Reed,

Key Player

Dusan Tadic

Tadic will be key to how Saints play, he will have to help Bertrand negate the threat of Nathan Dyer whilst continuing his fine attacking form, if he does this then it will augur well for the game and Tadic himself will have shown just what a player he is.

Photo: Action Images

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