Southampton's bargain buys make their mark

THE Dell. Even the name of the ground exudes a sleepy backwater feel, a cosy wooded hollow tucked away from the bustle of the Premiership's main geographic routes and heady economic thinking.

Well, last Saturday the giants came a-calling and instead of wreaking their expected havoc, they were sent away with a rather large flea in their ears.

Of course, one giant killing act counts for little: York City are still struggling long after beating Manchester United.

But at Southampton there are clear signs that one of the club's most famous victories could presage a permanent elevation to domestic soccer's headier climes.

The appointment of a big time manager, the purchase of a host of un Southampton like quality players and the imminent green light for a new stadium fit for the millennium show that the Saints are marching to a new tune.

For now, though, Graeme Souness is tapping his conductor's baton on the music stand. "We mustn't get carried away," he says. "We can't let that happen because it will just go to the players' heads. One result doesn't mean they are the best team in the Premiership. We've got to follow it up."

But how refreshing it must feel at Southampton to have expectations to dampen. And though the proper time to judge the Souness revolution is the end of the season, he was yesterday voted Premiership Manager of the Month after steering the team to a six game unbeaten run.

The quality of the win over United proved that the once profligate Scot has adapted to tighter purse strings while redressing his Liverpool image as a purchaser of dud players. He has procured, for less than the cost of one Nick Barmby, four well priced internationals to form the backbone of a smart new team.

The sharpest thorn in Alex Ferguson's backside on Saturday was Fjal Berkovic, a tiny 24 year old Israeli international who scored two goals and set up three more in only his fourth game for Southampton. He cost just £1 million from Maccabi Haifa.

Not that Souness discovered this mobile, quick footed, frail looking ball player through some extensive scouting system.

"Seven years ago I was on holiday in Israel sunbathing on the beach and got bored," he says. "So a friend and I went to see a game and we saw this boy in midfield and were very impressed. I've kept an eye on him ever since."

Souness invited Berkovic for a trial beside a colder sea and, swallowing fears that he might be too frail for the Premiership, signed the 37 cap wonder. "I haven't seen anyone like him for a long time," says the manager. "He sees passes and pictures that nobody else does. As a passer I was never in his league."

Berkovic really drills his passes but according to Souness's number two Terry Cooper he was reluctant to translate that power into shots. "When he first arrived we were amazed at the way he took people on and beat them out of sight but then just played the ball off." They had a word. Against United, Berkovic scored with what were basically his first two shots for the club.

The Norwegian international striker Egil Ostenstadt scored a hat trick in that game. He signed for just £900,000. Once Souness decided he did not fancy Neil Shipperley, he went for Ostenstadt, who had just scored 24 goals in 25 games for Viking Stavangar.

Direct, two footed, quick, but stocky and strong, "He's a typical Viking," says Cooper.

Adds Souness: "Egil finishes - as well as anyone I've seen for ages. I've played with some good strikers and he's up there with the best.

"I've got a player to sniff out the goals in Ostenstadt, someone to put players through in Berkovic and I've got Matty."

Ah, Le Tissier, the most relieved genius in Southampton. "Having so many quality players around me at last has helped lift the pressure," says the scorer of nine goals this season and yesterday voted Premiership Player of the Month.

This new firmament also includes Souness's main transfer target, the Dutch international defender Ulrich van Gobbel, whom he signed for Galatasaray and has brought to the Dell for £1.3 million.

Alongside him in a three man defence is yet another Norwegian international Claus Lundekvam whom Souness spotted playing for SK Brann.

But caution is still the watchword. "There is nothing quite like defeating Manchester United," says the vice chairman Keith Wiseman, "but it is the same three points as anyone else and if you don't go on to win further matches it diminishes in significance. We do need a longer perspective."

But even he admits: "It has certainly woken up the city. They really feel we could be heading for a better period." Or as Berkovic put it with a flourish characteristic of his game: "This is the beginning of a great adventure.