There feels so much more to be positive about for Saints after their draw at Bournemouth.

A clean sheet, a strong performance and chances created away from home against a team who had started the season well. It wasn’t quite a win but otherwise as close to what the doctor ordered after two weeks of worry during the international break.

Credit must go to Mark Hughes. He was just starting to come under a little pressure, as all managers do in a short-term result driven business.

Rather than simply shut up shop against an attack minded side and go negative, he took the opposite approach.

Sending his team out with a 4-4-2 system, committing to two strikers and two genuine attacking wide men was a statement of intent, to his own squad as much as the opposition.

It sounded out a resounding message that the way to turn things around is through positivity rather than parking the bus.

It is what Saints fans want to see but takes guts to try and deliver it as a manager of any club outside of the top six in a division where not losing sometimes seems more important than winning.

Also, it would be revising history to suggest there weren’t a few raised eyebrows when Hughes named Jack Stephens and Wesley Hoedt as his centre half pairing for the match, the latter having come in for a lot of criticism recently.

However, they were as solid as you would want, and Hoedt in particular was outstanding.

For all the many positives, there was a negative, and that was Saints failed to win a game which was there for the taking.

After recent problems it seems harsh to suggest that getting a good point on the road is disappointing but given the chances Saints created it did feel that way.

In particular, Stuart Armstrong and Manolo Gabbiadini, with their opportunities coming right at the death, might have had sleepless nights reliving their misses.

No league goals in the last four matches underlines that remains an issue, despite all the positivity from Hughes in the team selection and the players on the pitch.

Up next comes Newcastle at home.

Given the struggles of the Magpies it surely has to be time to end the poor home run.

If Saints can do that then you sense things will really feel as if they are looking up.

For that to happen though it requires more of the same produced at the Vitality Stadium coupled with a cutting edge.