Are Southampton a better team this season?

Ronald Koeman's start at Southampton has been impressive

It was all doom and gloom in the media about Southampton over the summer but things have changed rather drastically. Alex Johnson asks if they are even better this season?

Southampton are a revamped side from the one that enjoyed such success last season.

The 2013-14 campaign was one of real achievement on the south coast as Mauricio Pochettino led the club to an eighth-place finish in the Premier League with a club-record points tally. After such triumph it was somewhat inevitable that the bigger fish came circling during the summer to swoop on Southampton's prized assets. Out went Pochettino to Tottenham, while Luke Shaw went to Manchester United, Calum Chambers went to Arsenal and Liverpool pounced to sign Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Dejan Lovren.

Ronald Koeman was the man chosen to replace Pochettino in the St Mary's dug-out and the experienced Dutch manager has overseen a revolution at Southampton. It was always a hard job to inherit a team that lost a successful manager and five of their star players, but Koeman is forcing those who predicted the Saints would be relegation candidates to eat their words. Southampton went on a run of six successive victories in all competitions before Sunday's loss to Spurs and sit in third spot in the Premier League after seven games.

The new manager reaped the benefits of the huge money made through player sales this summer, as he had the opportunity to invest in replacements. He looks to have spent wisely as the likes of Graziano Pelle, Dusan Tadic, Fraser Forster, Sadio Mane and Toby Alderweireld have all fitted in seamlessly in the opening weeks of the Premier League.

So how does this new-look Southampton compare to the one which performed so well last season? Pelle appears a fantastic acquisition and has hit the ground running, with four goals already this season. He played under Koeman at Feyenoord and has a great record, with 54 goals in 63 appearances since August 2012. Pelle carries a great threat and it could be said he looks a more dangerous all-round option than the ageing Lambert. If fellow summer arrival Shane Long can discover the form he showed at Hull City last season that will also be a huge boost, as will the return from injury of Jay Rodriguez.

There are definitely goals in this Southampton team and Koeman has them continuing to play the fast-paced and attractive football that brought them so much success last season. It helps the new manager that players like Nathaniel Clyne and Victor Wanyama have stepped up to the plate this season, taking their game to a new level. Defensively, the side also looks really solid. Clyne has been outstanding at right-back - forcing himself into the England squad - while the on-loan Ryan Bertrand bombs up and down the left side to provide options. The Belgian international Alderweireld has also proved a more-than-capable replacement for Lovren and there is no doubt England keeper Forster is a top-rate stopper and certainly more reliable that Artur Boruc, who you always felt had a blooper in him.

Keeping Morgan Schneiderlin at Southampton was also a massive coup for Koeman, as it looked for long periods during the summer like he was on his way. The manager persuaded the Frenchman to stay and he has played a massive part in their success so far, being the lynchpin in midfield and chipping in with three goals already.

After the summer's upheaval at the club it would have been understandable if Southampton had struggled to cope. But Koeman has done fantastically well to bring in good replacements and turn the negatives into positives, helping to bring the squad together into a tighter unit. Overall this Saints squad looks stronger than last season's and the future looks bright.