With a win comes belief - now how will Saints react?

Finally, we have something to celebrate. A win. A comprehensive win and a clean sheet over Championship side Swansea City in the FA Cup third round, giving Ivan Juric his first victory in charge.

Kamaldeen Sulemana scored his first goal in 37 games, and Tyler Dibling continued his rise with a double to seal progression into round four. Burnley await - and that will be another solid test of our level.

To call this season troublesome would be a massive understatement. Premier League struggles have been evident with the club rooted to the foot of the table with one win from 20. That win, the last win, coming back on 2 November.

One thing you can say about Saints is their cup form always seems more positive.

An FA Cup semi-final in 2021, a run to quarter-finals in 2022 and a fifth-round exit in 2023 show our credentials in the competition, despite our league woes.

Even in Nathan Jones' ill-fated 2022-23 campaign we managed a semi-final appearance in the Carabao Cup, beating Manchester City en route.

It does seem clear there is a huge chasm between the top two tiers, so we should not get carried away with one victory, especially given our dire straits in the league.

We face a challenging week on the road. A trip to Manchester United on Thursday, then on to The City Ground to face a red-hot Nottingham Forest side sitting just six points off the top.

What will this cup win do for our preparations? Well, let's enjoy it. It is a morale boost that will do us the world of good; a much-needed pick-up around Staplewood on Monday.

And with that, belief. How will we react? I, for one, am feeling more positive about the week ahead.

Find more from Ray Hunt at the In that Number podcast