In amongst all the inevitable talk of Mauricio Pochettino’s return, it should not be forgotten that Saints are facing a massive game in the context of their season today.

The fixture against Tottenham at St Mary’s could ultimately make or break their chase for a Europa League spot.

The results of the FA Cup semi-finals last week mean that the likes of Spurs and Saints cannot sit comfortably.

Had Liverpool overcome Aston Villa and booked a place to meet Arsenal in the final, then seventh would surely have been good enough for European qualification, and it is very taxing to imagine how Saints and Spurs will finish outside of the top seven.

However, the possibility that Villa might win the FA Cup and take the European spot attached to the competition for themselves means that come the final day of the campaign, a week before the final, only the top six will be assured of European football in the following campaign.

Working on the assumption that the top four as it stands look like keeping their spots, it leaves Saints, Spurs and Liverpool in a straight out fight for the other two places.

There is also another incentive for a higher finish beyond even mere Europa League status, glory and a bit of extra cash.

That is avoiding the dreaded Europa League qualifiers.

Should the FA Cup place go back to the league in the event of an Arsenal win then fifth and sixth places will ensure automatic qualification for the group stages of the Europa League, whereas seventh will have to qualify.

If that’s the way it pans out then Saints will have to deal with it, but it’s something you would rather avoid.

It means starting the season at the end of July, and having to win through two, two-legged ties to get to the group stage.

Should you get to the group stages, even if you get knocked out there, it adds ten fixtures to your season by mid-December.

For a club like Saints without a massive squad or extensive resources, it piles on the pressure and the difficulty factor, as well of course of leaving open the possibility of your hopes fizzling out early on, as they did for Hull, who won their first qualifying tie but lost the second and thus failed to make the group stages.

While the return of Pochettino is going to take much attention, there is a lot more on the line for Saints than merely a bit of revenge.