After going toe-to-toe with European pedigree midweek, Radhi Jaïdi's Under-23s now turn attention back toward Premier League 2, with a visit to Reading's Madejski Stadium on Saturday.
The clash comes three days after Saints held two-time International Cup champions Porto to a 1-1 draw at Staplewood - a result which Jaïdi believes will stand his youngsters in good stead moving into a significant run of fixtures.
The first of those, a trip to neighbouring Berkshire, could see Saints regain the league's top spot, but Jaïdi will be mindful that hosts Reading, in sixth, will be poised to pounce on any potential slip ups.
"We've been confident since the start of the season," he began. "Now we're ten games in, the confidence has grown.
"The focus has been consistently good and the performances have followed.
"We're going to face another good side in PL2 on Saturday - a team who play football, and try to play out from the back.
"Of course I expect the standards to be kept high. We've not had a huge amount of time to refocus, but we'll be ready to go again.
"Playing at the Madejski is another chance for the boys to experience a first-team setup.
"It's a good stadium, good surface and they'll play in front of a crowd, which importantly replicates first-team level."
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