Sunday 13 May 2018 18:58, UK
Read on for our review of their campaign, complete with the views of Soccer Saturday pundit Matt Le Tissier.
Finishing position: 17th (-9)
Total points: 36 (-10)
FA Cup: Semi-final
Carabao Cup: Second round
Top scorer: Charlie Austin (7)
Southampton survived a huge scare to retain their Premier League status thanks to a late surge under Mark Hughes. Saints had established themselves as a top-half team but that all changed this season with new manager Mauricio Pellegrino struggling badly to get results.
The sale of Virgil van Dijk in January added to the feeling that the club was going in the wrong direction and when Hughes was appointed as Pellegrino's replacement in March it took time for him to get results too. By mid-April, Southampton were cut adrift.
But eight points from four unbeaten games saw them clamber out of the drop zone with the 1-0 win over Swansea in the final week of the season proving particularly significant. Southampton will be hoping that they can learn the lessons from a difficult campaign.
Best day of 2017/18
The trip to Swansea was effectively a relegation play-off and Southampton deservedly won it 1-0 thanks to Manolo Gabbiadini's second-half strike. Hughes had to contend with the cancellation of the team hotel but he was bold in his substitutions and got the reward.
Worst day of 2017/18
It looked like being a fantastic day for Southampton when they went two up at home to Chelsea but a capitulation in the second half saw them beaten 3-2 and seemed to sum up why they were doomed. It left them five points behind Swansea with five games to play.
Managerial review
It was a tough ask for Mark Hughes to keep us up given the short period of time. The quality was there but it has been a really poor season so there was some significant turning around to do and he's done a terrific job to get enough points. Their confidence was rock bottom but he ground out that point at Leicester when people criticised the lack of adventure and made some bold decisions on which players he thought could and couldn't do the job.
Player of year
Alex McCarthy might have only played half of the season but he made some crucial saves in key games, especially recently and has been one of the few pluses for the season. There are not really many other contenders from a season most will be happy to put behind them.
2018/19 prospects
I'd imagine there will be investment as there are two or three positions which really need strengthening, and the quality that comes in will decide whether we're in another battle. There are a lot of variables, including whether Hughes will extend his contract beyond this season, so it will be a crucial summer for the club.
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