Southampton’s 2017/18 campaign just hasn’t gone as planned. If fans thought life was getting a little tough under Claude Puel, the beginning of Mauricio Pellegrino’s tenure has been considerably rougher; just nine points and two wins from eight Premier League games, with only seven goals scored.

Last weekend too, provided a disappointing result. Newcastle were tipped by some to become the Premier League’s whipping boys having struggled to adequately recruit after their season in the Championship, but the Magpies left the south coast with a point from a game they arguably should have won – twice taking the lead and finishing up with seven more efforts at goal, three more of which were on target.

But there’s no need for Southampton to hit the panic button just yet. They may be just one point off 17th place, but the sheer quality of Pellegrino’s side is hard to ignore. Ryan Bertrand, Cedric Soares and Virgil van Dijk are surely amongst the best defenders outside the top six, Dusan Tadic has more than proved himself as a top-half playmaker and Manolo Gabbiadini, for all the flack he’s received this season, showed his quality yesterday to make it three goals in five Premier League starts.

And few players epitomise the level of talent at St. Mary’s better than Mario Lemina who, at £15.4million, is already making a strong case for being one of the deals of the summer. The midfielder arrived with a preceding reputation from his time at Juventus but he’s still managed to surpass expectations and was the one consistent provider of class in an otherwise cagey and chaotic affair with Newcastle.

That’s perhaps highlighted best by the Gabon international’s fluidity on the ball, recording the most dribbles of any player on the pitch – something that certainly isn’t easy when you’re in the engine room – while completing a whopping 93% of his passes. On top of that, Lemina made significant contributions defensively, weighing in with three tackles, three interceptions and four clearances.

With players of Lemina’s quality in their ranks, it surely a matter of Southampton simply finding the right formula to get their stuttering season back on track. That being said, Pellegrino is running out of time to prove himself at a new club in a new league. Patience, though, seems far more sensible than going back to the drawing board already.