What a difference 24 hours can make to the mind of a football fan, writes JOHN SMITH.

On Friday night, while discussing the current plight of the club, my mind - like the team’s position in the table - was also at rock bottom.

I was convinced that manager Graham Alexander, mainly due to some poor recruitment during the last three transfer windows, had inherited a squad lacking in confidence as well as quality.

I also feared they had no stomach for a fight which, depressingly, meant there would be little he could do with this group of players to stop the inevitable slide into League One at the end of the current season.

Therefore I arrived at Deepdale on Saturday afternoon with no expectation and very little hope that by 5pm, the team would add anything to their paltry total of five points.

Southampton were a side I considered to be one of the best in the division and had only failed to score once in their 16 league and cup games so far - while our defence had conceded goals for fun in what had been a wretched season.

Even the sight of my absent friend’s mother-in-law Val sitting in his seat prior to kick-off had failed to lift my spirits.

Val had been something of a lucky omen over the past few seasons as we had never ever lost any match at Deepdale she had attended in his place.

However, almost straight from the kick-off, Alexander’s slightly tweaked side were up and at the visitors.

This instantly lifted the crowd who continued to roar their team on throughout the whole game.

It created an electric atmosphere I have not felt at Deepdale over such long periods for many a while.

There is no doubt that the crowd on Saturday was the 12th man in spurring their team to what, pre-match, had seemed an unlikely victory.

The high press which Grezza's team played in the first half was one which I have not seen played as effectively since the heyday of Alex Neil’s team.

The team were full of running and their constant pressure when Southampton tried to play out from the back constantly had me on the edge of my seat for the first time in many a while.

When Jordan Thompson thumped in a howitzer of a volley to give us a deserved lead, Deepdale came alive.

It was a great watch, especially after we successfully managed to batten down the hatches in the second half.

Although the whole team defended like trojans and there were several standout performances, goalkeeper Lee Nicholls - on his league debut - was well worthy of his man of the match award.

The world-class save he made in the second half helped him keep our first clean sheet since February.

After being the butt of so many derisory comments from rival teams, it felt great not to see the empty Deepdale stands when the referee blew his full-time whistle.

The only fire drill in operation was the one made by the Southampton fans as they trooped out of the stadium in single file to start their long journey back to Hampshire.

Our fans stayed long after the final whistle to herald what really was a fine win and a performance full of grit and determination.

Who knows, a few more displays of this calibre might see ‘Alexander the Great’ take his place in the waxwork museum one day alongside Harry Houdini in the ‘great escapologist’ section.