IT has been a perennial habit of Southampton to take their foot off the pedal and cruise into mid-table mediocrity.

This year, things have finally changed.

The club has shaken off the tag of annual relegation favourites, while manager Gordon Strachan has never allowed them to bask in the mid-table comfort zone.

Simply, there is no chance of any team under Strachan taking its foot off the pedal.

And Wanderers, who travel to St Mary's on Saturday, should beware that fact.

Having seen the symptoms last year, Strachan has ensured that Saints continue to be motivated for every game regardless of their league position.

Now the players are looking upwards rather than be content to settle for where they are.

Yet they do have a couple of other little things to keep them motivated as well.

With aa FA Cup Final to look forward to on May 17, the Saints players know they will have to play well to overcome Arsenal and to earn their place in the side, the players must not sit back.

The make up of the side may look fairly set, but there is now enough competition in the squad to add an extra edge to Saints' game.

"There will be no letting up," said James Beattie. "If people are going to start pulling out of tackles then that is when you get injured.

"You have got to play the way you have always played. Then the mind-set is always the same and you won't get injured because you haven't done all season.

"If you get kicked it is part of the game but you have to take it and be mentally tough. "

Strachan has worked hard to instill the right mental balance in his side.

"We are relaxed because we have achieved two things this year," he said. "We got to a cup final and we got into Europe.

"I have taught the players to trust each other, relax and be brave on the ball. There is a bravery, where you run around crashing into people, and another kind where you are not the biggest so you have got to accept the ball and take knocks."

With a Saints side prepared for any kind of encounter, at a club filled with confidence about its future, chairman Rupert Lowe must be hoping that Saints can find this level of consistency every year.

This is the major step the club needs to take and Wanderers will need to be on their guard.