Mark Wotte quickly abandoned Poortvliet's 'revolutionary' yet confusing 4-2-1-2-1 formation, adopting a twist on the classic 4-4-2, with a diamond formation. Each player knows their role and where their colleagues should be.
2. Style of play
Saints have become much more direct under Wotte, not afraid to pump long balls into the two front men, but still also able to vary the attacks with quick, short passing to open up the opposition. Crucially, they also have a gameplan adapting to the opposition and the match conditions to stop the opposition playing and hold onto leads.
3. Bringing Skacel and Euell in from the cold
The two high earners were frozen out during the transfer period as Saints looked to move them on. Thankfully Saints were unable to and both have overcome their poor treatment to return fired up, adding vital experience up front and at the back.
4. Uniting Saganowski and Euell
Wotte has found a wining combination up front after experimenting with McGoldrick and Saga. Euell adds height and strength in the classic Heskey England role, allowing Saga to run the channels and feed off the knock downs to great effect. Even better, Euell finally got himself on the scoresheet with 2 against Ipswich.
5. Getting the best out of McGoldrick
Despite his ten goals, there's no doubt that David McGoldrick has struggled under the pressure of being the side's lone striker, an unfair burden for a player in his first full season. It was a big gamble to put him into central midfield but it has paid off, with McGoldrick thriving with the increased responsibility that central midfield requires.
6. A slice of luck
They say luck evens out over the course of the season and Saints have finally got the rub of the green in recent games. The Perry handball v Cardiff, the lucky break for Surman's opener v Preston and some wayward finishing from the opposition have all played their part.
Conclusion
Of course, it's just three games, but three wins in a row is a big deal for us after the season we've had and there is no doubting the improvement in the quality of our play. We still have a big task ahead of us to stay up, but the changes that Wotte has made gives us hope that we can.