Southampton made a strong start to 2021, beating defending champions Liverpool 1-0 to move up to seventh in the table. Since then, things have gone downhill swiftly.

The side's 1-0 defeat to Everton on Monday night was their eighth loss in nine matches, a run which has seen them drop down to 14th place.

From briefly topping the table in November, it has been an alarming fall from grace for the Saints, which was capped off last month by their infamous 9-0 hammering at the hands of Manchester United. 

One of their former stars, Matt Le Tissier, fears that the worst could be yet to come.

During Monday's game, he tweeted: "Has a team ever been relegated after being top of the league in November? Asking for a friend."

Having appeared to be contenders for a European spot earlier in the season, Southampton are now just seven points above the relegation zone and looking nervously over their shoulders.

GIVEMESPORT's Sam Brookes says...

It is no surprise that Southampton's supporters are becoming concerned. Their form in the last two months has nosedived, and they have failed to win any of their last nine top-flight games.

They have not scored in five of those matches, and rarely looked like breaking down a stubborn Everton defence in their latest outing.

Meanwhile, Ralph Hasenhuttl opted to change his goalkeeper for that game, bringing in Fraser Forster for Alex McCarthy. This suggests that Southampton have issues in multiple areas of the pitch.

The club's injury list is also increasing by the week, with Theo Walcott currently sidelined and Oriol Romeu ruled out for the rest of the season.

A crucial run of fixtures now awaits the South Coast side. They face Sheffield United, Brighton, Burnley and West Brom in four of their next five games.

If they can pick up points in those games, they should secure their Premier League status for another year and can put this season behind them.