THE margins between success and failure, and happiness and sheer disappointment in any sport are small.

In the Premiership, they can sometimes be tiny.

After nine months of effort, Saints could still have finished anywhere between eighth and 13th before yesterday's last-ever game at Maine Road.

They say the league table doesn't lie, but ending up below last year's final position of 11th would have been scant reward for the obvious improvements in Gordon Strachan's team.

This season, Saints are fitter, stronger in defence and more cohesive as a team.

Other than James Beattie, they have lacked a cutting edge, but eighth is unquestionably a fair reflection on the football they have played this season.

Of the teams above them Manchester United, Arsenal, Newcastle, Liverpool, Everton and Chelsea have been stronger over the season and that superiority, other than against Chelsea, has been reflected in the games against Saints.

Saints perhaps looked a more complete team in the fixtures with Blackburn, but Graeme Souness and his team deserve their high position in the table for a fantastic late run.

For Strachan, it has been something of a roller-coaster ride with the season easy to divide into distinct parts.

Early on, the performances were encouraging, but Beattie was struggling and the goals were not forthcoming.

Eighteenth and just seven points after eight games was not exactly going on the 'B' of the bang.

But, after the Tranmere Worthing-ton Cup game, goals suddenly matched the solid displays at the back with first Brett Ormerod and then Beattie finding their form.

The goals dried up for Ormerod eventually but Beattie went from strength to strength.

Saints consistently picked up points between October and December to climb to tenth.

Then the golden patch began with festive wins against Sunderland and Tottenham lifting them to the heights of the top six.

A fantastic performance at the Riverside against Middlesbrough resulted in a harsh 2-2 draw and, from there, the league momentum seemed to slip.

Consecutive defeats against Manchester United, Blackburn and Everton sent Saints to mid-table and, with an FA Cup run gathering momentum, an inconsistency developed that made it difficult to progress back up the table.

The heights of Tottenham and Middlesbrough were briefly reached against Leeds but it was hard to remember a more mediocre display than the one which Arsenal punished to the tune of 6-1.

Yet, all in all, to finish on a mini-high and eighth is richly deserved and a fantastic accomplishment.

Amazingly, Beattie has scored 53 per cent of Saints' league goals this season. To put that in perspective, Thierry Henry has managed less than a third for Arsenal, while Ruud van Nistelrooy is also under 33 per cent for champions Manchester United.

Even when Matt Le Tissier was at his best for Saints in the early 1990s, the great man never quite matched Beattie's ratio, coming closest in 1993/4 when he scored just over 50 per cent of Saints' league goals.

Against Man City, Saints showed the legendary work-rate and dogged defence that will be crucial next week against Arsenal.

More important, the win, and their final league position, will send them to Cardiff in the right frame of mind for the big one.