Gordon Strachan believes Saints can finish comfortably in the top half of the table this season - just so long as they stop conceding injury- time goals.

The Saints boss saw his side let in a last-gasp goal for the third time this season on Saturday when Andy Cole pounced with only seconds remaining to steal a point for Blackburn.

Previously, Saints conceded past the allotted injury-time at Bolton to draw 1-1 and lost 2-1 at Spurs to a late penalty.

Had they held on in those three games they would be on 22 points and in the top seven - where Strachan feels they deserve to be after their performances this season.

He said: "We have conceded three injury-time goals and if we wouldn't have done we'd be on 22 points, level with Manchester United, and you can't tell me we haven't deserved that from our performances.

"It's a small dividing line between being a good Premiership team and a very good team and the injury-time goals are stopping us moving up."

Strachan, whose side were also denied a point at Old Trafford courtesy of Diego Forlan's 85th-minute winner, added: "I think most people look at the top six and know that they are the richest clubs and we can't compete with that.

"But then from the seventh position we can get there and we should be about that position with the football we've played, there is absolutely no doubt about that.

"We can never get in the top six. As soon as the transfer window opens they can just go and buy players to do even better.

"But we just want to try and progress and see how far we'll get."

Strachan also said his team need to find the net more and produce a better final ball on occasions after they failed, despite a brilliant performance from Brad Friedel, to put the game beyond Blackburn at the weekend.

He said: "We'll hang about the middle if we keep missing our chances.

"If we would have put in a quarter of our chances we could be a good side.

"We just need to do something to have the ability in the box, just more focus.

"Blackburn got to the touchline once and scored, we got there numerous times and have been a bit rash and not done it - so I need to sort that out."

Kevin Davies is back at Southampton after scoring three goals in a two-month loan spell at Millwall.

Davies, 25, has admitted that he has little future at Southampton on more than one occasion in the last eight weeks.

The former Blackburn striker scored three goals in nine appearances for the Lions but has been out of favour at the New Den in recent weeks and was not in the squad as Millwall beat Preston on Saturday.

Millwall manager Mark McGhee said: "Obviously Kevin wasn't going to be in our starting line up for Preston and was on the bench for us in our last couple of games .

"Clearly from his point of view he wants to be playing in the first team but financially, we have to question whether we can keep him here just to be a sub."