FOR more than 30 years Gordon Strachan has given his life to an industry where you are basically either up or down.

At the end of the season, the Saints boss understandably hopes to spend a little more time on an even keel.

Saints might be in the top half of the table, but Strachan would certainly settle for something closer to that even keel when it comes to the performances of his team.

While ten points from eight games isn't quite relegation form, the most recent results of just one point from twelve most certainly is.

Saints really should have enough to avoid that danger, but chairman Rupert Lowe seems unlikely to hesitate and bring in a new man if he senses serious danger.

You can rest assured Strachan's commitment will not be in question and he was as passionate and animated as ever on the touchline on St Andrews at the weekend.

Ultimately, though, it will probably depend on the reaction to the current situation of the players.

The motivating forced behind most footballers is often questioned - but now is the chance for the Saints squad to show their inner-steel and professionalism.

On Saturday, there didn't appear to be much wrong in terms of their determination to win the game.

The midfield showed more creativity with Anders Svensson and Fabrice Fernandes putting in decent performances, although it is sad to see Chris Marsden become the latest 'forgotten' man.

Last season Marsden and Fernandes were successful regulars on the left and right of midfield respectively and could still be the best bet in those positions.

That said, the real problem on Saturday was uncharacteristically the defence, which was given real problems up front by the pace of Clinton Morrison as well as the movement of Mikael Forssell.

After a bright start, the midfield was then also somewhat over-run for periods of the second-half as Birmingham took control.

As Strachan has regularly said, there is little to choose between 15 teams in the Premiership.

Many results seem to depend on the relative feel-good factor at any given time.

A culture of drift could now develop at Saints.

The final challenge for Strachan as manager will be to address such a danger by inspiring his squad to rediscover that sense of momentum, progress and improvement which has so characterised his time at the club.

It would be a real shame if he now left on anything other than a high.