Projected starting XI

Fraser Forster; Ryan Bertrand, Virgil van Dijk (hopefully!), Maya Yoshida, Cedric; Oriol Romeu, Steven Davis, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg; Nathan Redmond, Charlie Austin, Manolo Gabbiadini

How do you feel about your club’s summer transfer business?

This summer has been both quiet and frustrating. Southampton captain Virgil van Dijk has been continually linked with moves away from the club, while the likes of Cuco Martina, Martin Caceres and Jay Rodriguez have moved on. Conversely, Saints have only brought in young Polish centre-half Jan Bednarek and Juventus midfielder Mario Lemina this summer. Southampton's lacklustre 2016/17 league campaign clearly showed signs how the Saints' squad is in desperate need of rejuvenation but the club has seemingly done little to address those problems. Lemina was a decent start, but there's a lot of work left to be done.

Are you happy with ownership? Elated? Cautiously optimistic? Furious?

I fear the Southampton ownership caved into fan pressure when they sacked former coach Claude Puel, ignoring the fact he had to contend with a weakened squad depleted from another summer of pillaging courtesy of "bigger clubs" Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as the strains of Europa League football. Mauricio Pellegrino, Southampton's new coach, seems a favourable replacement for Puel, but there are still issues with the squad which have not yet been properly addressed by the Saints ownership — which could well be linked with the club's stalling takeover talks with Chinese consortium Lander Sports.

What’s the highest reasonable goal your team has and what needs to go right to get there?

With Southampton's squad problems and yet another new manager having to take time to get his team to play how he wants, I feel a reasonable goal for the 2017/18 campaign is another Top 10 finish in the Premier League in addition to a decent cup run. That's exactly what we got last season, but it wasn't enough for the majority of Saints fans.

Who’s a player on your team that neutrals might not know much about, but should become fans of?

With a full pre-season under his belt and seemingly injury-free, Sofiane Boufal could be the breakout player in an otherwise average team. Boufal was still nursing a bad knee injury when he was bought by former boss Puel as Southampton's record signing and inconsistently showed impressive bursts of what he can do from the left wing. Here's hoping his form comes along as he gets more Premier League game time under his belt.

What do you think makes your team’s fan culture better than any other team’s?

Supporting a Premier League team isn't always the best choice if you wish to absorb the finest in fan culture experienced in football, but Southampton is a fun team to watch home and away. Mind the cliché, but following Saints is like being on a never-ending, fun-yet-stressful rollercoaster ride. As a result of fans being kept on their toes for so long, you will hear vociferous verbal support for Southampton from away fans traveling the width and breadth of the country and at home in St. Mary's.

Players, coaches and owners all come and go, but Southampton fans have always stayed loyal to their beloved club. Saints are the proverbial plucky underdogs and the club's fans get fully behind their team to help them upset the established Premier League applecart.

Main photo: Warren Little/Getty Images