THE RACE for the Barclaycard fourth place championship is hotting up - and Saints could win it.

At the start of the season not many people would have had Saints above Liverpool in their end of season prediction tables.

But, on the evidence of this result, there's no reason why not.

Liverpool are ordinary. Accepted, they were missing Michael Owen and Harry Kewell, but this was ordinary.

Saints on the other hand are firing away and you still get that feeling that they have another gear, another level they have yet to reach.

Perhaps the old order of English football has changed.

Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal are streets ahead and then there's not much to choose between everybody else.

Newcastle and Liverpool are the sides that most people would associate as 'the chasing pack' but it could easily be Saints, Fulham, Charlton, Birmingham or any other such 'unfashionable', up- and-coming club that steals a march to fourth place.

On the evidence of this game, Saints were much better than Liverpool.

Charlton last week were better than Liverpool.

Bolton might be, too.

Of course, this might all be down to Liverpool having the wrong man in charge.

Certainly, if Gerrard Houllier really believed his post-match comments that Liverpool should have won this game, you have to question his football judgement.

Not only did Saints DESERVE to win this game, they went to Anfield and outplayed the home team in most departments.

It makes you wonder if the difference between an average manager and a good manager is not all about how you splash out on big money players, but also how you fill out a squad with lesser players.

This is the first time in years I've looked at the Liverpool bench, then the Saints bench, and thought I'd much rather be in charge of Saints.

Paul Jones, Chris Marsden, Kevin Phillips, Fabrice Fernandes and Agustin Delgado.

Or Salif Diao, Anthony Le Tallec, Bruno Cheyrou, Florent Sinama-Pongolle and Patrice Luzi?

If Liverpool really are the favourites for the fourth place championship, then there is no reason Saints can't finish that high.

Strachan stuck with an unchanged side for the 3-2 win over Charlton and kept Marian Pahars on the left wing. That works an absolute treat.

The defence is solid, the other three midfielders run themselves into the ground and it provides the opportunity to have a creative talent on the wing.

Last season, that was Fernandes but, after a bright start, full-backs started to work him out.

The same will not happen with Pahars.

That's because his strength is picking up the ball and running at defenders with pace.

You can try and stop him having the ball by man-marking, but that tactic is rarely effective these days.

So your only option as a defender is to wear your brown rubber underpants as he rockets towards you and hope for the best.

His mere presence gives Saints an extra dimension to their play and they look the world better for having him in there.

Brett Ormerod is also on fire at the moment - it took him just 72 seconds of this game to open the scoring.

Claus Lundekvam's long ball was picked up by Ormerod, who did for Dietmar Hamann and sprinted through for a cool finish in a one-on-one with Chris Kirkland.

Liverpool had possession and pressure areas but failed to create chances in the first half as Saints dealt with all they had to offer.

Lundekvam was forced off through injury and Saints had to re-shuffle.

But, in the second period, Saints could had more - Pahars side-footed wide a glorious opening from eight yards and Kirkland dramatically saved James Beattie's cross-goal header.

Then Liverpool came strong and Antti Niemi stopped from Sinama-Pongolle and Jason Dodd cleared Sami Hyypia's header off the line.

But Michael Svensson got a rocket header to Dodd's corner to make it 2-0.

Jon Ostemobor tested Niemi before Liverpool did get one back on 75 minutes.

Niemi stopped Gerrard's low drive but it fell to Emile Heskey, who tapped home.

Niemi again had to stop from Pongolle but the win was Saints' and, with it, the belief that they should aim very high this season.