Southampton drew 0-0 at Stoke on Wednesday to move up to ninth in the Premier League.

The Saints beat Middlesbrough 1-0 on Sunday to bounce back from their Europa League disappointment the preceding Thursday, which saw Claude Puel’s side knocked out of the competition after drawing 1-1 at home to Hapoel Be’er Sheva.

That exit has been the biggest frustration on what has otherwise been a solid four months in charge for Puel, who took over from Everton-bound Ronald Koeman in the summer.

The Frenchman has led his side to five league wins and six draws in his first 16 league games, which sees them sit in ninth in the table with 21 points.

They are also into the last four of the League Cup after beating Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates in the previous round, and they’ll hope to reach the final for only the second time in their history when they take on Liverpool in the semi-finals.

In what has been a decent start to life in English football for Puel, we thought we’d take a look and review Southampton’s season so far…

PRO – Decent Premier League form

Despite a slow start to Puel’s reign as Southampton manager, they have done reasonably well in the Premier League thus far.

The Saints have won five and drawn six of their 16 league games, and conceded just 15 goals in that time – only Chelsea and Tottenham have conceded less than Puel’s side.

It was their seven-match unbeaten run from September to October that got the Saints back on track, as they secured four successive wins and six consecutive clean sheets in that time to solidify their place in the top half.

Whether or not they can challenge for the European spots remains to be seen, but Southampton have laid the foundations for a second half of the season that could be a successful one for Saints fans.

CON – Out of Europe

The biggest disappointment of the season thus far at St Mary’s is Southampton’s exit from the Europa League.

The competition provided them with one of their greatest nights when they beat Inter Milan 2-1 back in November, but that paled in contrast to their dismal 1-1 draw at home to Hapoel Be’er Sheva, where their negative tactics came back to bite them late on.

They’ll be disappointed to have exited having beaten group winners Sparta Prague and Inter, but they will point to their defeats at the San Siro and in Prague as the main reason for their exit.

They’ll hope to give themselves another shot at Europe next season by either a high league finish in the Premier League, or by going on a cup run.

PRO – Tough to beat

15 goals conceded in 16 games is an excellent effort from the Southampton defence, who deserve a lot of credit for their solidarity this season.

Their run of six successive clean sheets, three of which were in the league, didn’t come as a surprise to many up and down the country, given the quality of defensive options Puel has at his disposal.

In Virgil van Dijk, they have arguably the best defender in the Premier League this season, and alongside Jose Fonte, another proven central defender, they have struck up quite the partnership.

With the likes of Cedric Soares and Ryan Bertrand at full-back, as well as Fraser Forster in goal, the Saints have a solid and dependable backline, and will be tough to beat as the season progresses should they keep the majority of them in January.

CON – Away form

While St Mary’s has been a fortress – they’ve only lost twice there in the league in 2016 – their away form this season has been far from impressive.

The Saints have won just one of their eight Premier League games, and that stretches to 11 matches when you include their three Europa League games, of which they lost two.

Their 3-0 win over West Ham back in September looked set to kick-start their away form, but they’ve lost to both Hull and Crystal Palace since then, and picked up just three other draws.

If the Saints are aiming for the European places, they need to be winning more than just one away game in eight, and it’s a record they will have to improve in the second half of the campaign.

Player of the Season – Virgil van Dijk

Oriol Romeu has been excellent in the defensive midfield role this season, and Charlie Austin’s goals have helped the Saints ten-fold, but it’s difficult to look past Virgil van Dijk as their Player of the Season so far.

The Dutch international has been brilliant at the back for Puel’s side, and is a big part of the backline that has conceded just 15 times in the league this season.

The 25-year-old was particularly impressive against both Manchester City and Everton, keeping Sergio Aguero and Romelu Lukaku under wraps on both occasions, and he also produced a man-of-the-match display against Inter at St Mary’s last month.

Keeping him in January would arguably be the best piece of business Southampton could do.