5 Things Southampton Fans Would Love to Happen in 2013-14

Southampton have had a decent start to the season, taking four points from their first three matches. The Saints currently sit in 10th place in the table ahead of Sunday's home clash with West Ham United.

With the season still in the early stages, there are plenty of dreams and expectations to be realized. Here's a look at five things Southampton would love to happen during the 2013-14 season.

Rickie Lambert Playing for England in World Cup 2014

Southampton will almost certainly have a member of the club representing their country at World Cup 2014 in Brazil.

Maya Yoshida will most likely be in the Japan squad that has already qualified. Same with Dani Osvaldo with Italy. Gaston Ramirez will play for Uruguay, who should qualify, as should Dejan Lovren with Croatia.

But the member of the Southampton squad that fans want to see at the World Cup most is Rickie Lambert. Not only because he would play for England, but because of his remarkable journey from the lower divisions.

Southampton haven't placed a player on the England World Cup team since Wayne Bridge earned his way onto the team in 2002.

Lambert has done well in his appearances with the England team so far, scoring twice and setting up two other goals. But with other options such as Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge likely to be healthy when June rolls around, the 31-year-old may end up being the odd man out.

Portsmouth Getting Relegated...Again

Most Southampton fans are happy that Portsmouth have finally gotten their affairs in order and have been sold to a fans' trust to keep the Saints' biggest rivals in operation. After all, Southampton were in a similar situation prior to Markus Liebherr buying the club out of administration in 2009.

That doesn't mean Saints fans want Pompey to do well, though.

Portsmouth currently reside in 17th place in the League Two table, and if Pompey somehow fall into 23rd place by the end of the year, Southampton's South Coast rivals would drop completely out of the Football League.

Eventually, most Saints fans would like Pompey to be on somewhat-level terms with Southampton. After all, it's not a rivalry if a match between the teams wouldn't be competitive. But that doesn't mean fans wouldn't like to see Portsmouth take one more step down before their recovery starts.

Managerial Stability

Managerial stability hasn't been a trait that has been exhibited at Southampton for many years. The last Saints manager to last more than five years on the job was Chris Nicholl from 1985-1991.

Since 1991, Southampton have had 22 different men take charge of the club, including two spells by Steve Wigley. Eight different managers have managed at least one game for the Saints since George Burley left to manage Scotland in 2008.

Mauricio Pochettino has a long way to go to end the streak of managers that have failed to last five seasons. A plan seems to be in place for Pochettino to build the club over the next couple of seasons to make Southampton contenders for a place in Europe.

Fans just hope the Argentinian manager is around to see it out, and that another change isn't necessary.

Not Hearing the Word "Relegation" Toward the End of the Season

Last season, Southampton were faced with questions about relegation for most of the campaign. The Saints finally put the question behind them on the next-to-last week of the season when they hit the 40-point mark, and Wigan were mathematically eliminated.

Southampton fans would like for this to be the last time the words "Southampton" and "relegation" are mentioned in the same sentence. 

To make sure a mid-table finish is probable, Southampton will need to start the new year with around 26-30 points and keep the "r-word" at bay for the rest of the season. That means eight wins in the 16 matches between now and the January 1 game with Chelsea.

Win a Cup Title

In all of Southampton's history, the 1976 FA Cup remains the only major trophy the Saints have ever captured.

There have been a few minor trophy successes, such as the 2010 Johnstone's Paint Trophy. But even through their rise from the lower leagues to the Premier League, Southampton never won the league. Saints finished second in League One in 2011 and second in the Championship in 2012.

As Swansea and Wigan proved last season, you don't have to be a big club to win a cup competition. You just need the right form on the right day and a little luck of the draw.

Southampton certainly have enough depth now to make a serious run in one of the cup competitions. If the draws keep coming up right for the Saints, there is no reason why Southampton can't add to the trophy case at St. Mary's.