Guardian writers' predicted position: 14th (NB: this is not necessarily Jacob Steinberg's prediction but the average of our writers' tips)

Last season's position: 14th

Odds to win the league: (via Oddschecker) 1,500-1

The situation was bleak for Southampton at the start of last season and after losing eight of their first 11 games there were not too many tipping them for survival. Quite the opposite, in fact, they were roundly mocked, derided and even somewhat unfairly compared to Derby County's motley crew in the 2007-08 season. The Premier League can be a cruel, unforgiving place and the feelgood factor caused by two successive promotions was in danger of evaporating into thin air, their attempt to bridge the gap between League One and the top flight seemingly set to be as successful as Homer Simpson's jump across Springfield Gorge.

They had the bumps and bruises to show for it, winning only one of their first 10 games and conceding 28 goals, and when they met Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road on 17 November they were in 19th place with five points. However, a crucial 3-1 win kickstarted their season and they were safe with something to spare, finishing five points clear of the bottom three in a respectable 14th place.

This year, assuming that second-season syndrome does not strike, the aim will surely be for Mauricio Pochettino to kick on and push for a top-10 finish in his first full season as manager. Under the club's executive chairman, Nicola Cortese, who controversially replaced the popular Nigel Adkins with the Argentinian in January, expectations are high at St Mary's. Southampton are ambitious and have already spent heavily this summer, signing the Croatia defender, Dejan Lovren, from Lyon for £6.8m and Victor Wanyama from Celtic for £12.5m, breaking the record they set when they bought Gastón Ramírez for £12m last summer.

There is no reason not to expect them to make a better start than last year, when they were callow, naive and unfortunate to play Arsenal and Manchester City away and Manchester United at home in three of their first four games. This time they do not play a member of last season's top four until a trip to Old Trafford on 19 October. They do not host one until City travel down to the south coast on 7 December and by then they will have played Sunderland, West Ham, Crystal Palace, Swansea, Fulham, Hull and Aston Villa at home, offering them a chance to build confidence and momentum. They could hardly have asked for more from the fixture computer.

The area where Southampton need to improve most is in defence. They conceded 60 goals last season, although they did settle down after that shocking start and once they began to iron out the errors which would not have been out of place in a bloopers show narrated by Danny Baker they went from shipping 28 goals in their first 10 games to 32 in their next 28. In that time their goal difference was +3 yet the suspicion remains that Jos Hooiveld and José Fonte are not exactly solidity personified, so much will be expected of Lovren, a highly rated 24-year-old with Champions League experience and 17 caps for Croatia.

Pochettino could field one of the youngest defences in the League. Nathaniel Clyne, who enjoyed a promising first season at right-back, is 22, while Luke Shaw, an 18-year-old who excelled after being thrown in at the deep end by Adkins, is seen as a future England left-back and recently signed a new five-year contract. However, his deputy, Danny Fox, was out of his depth when called upon.

The goalkeeping situation should also be less fraught. While Adkins was never sure who was his first choice out of Kelvin Davis, Paolo Gazzaniga and Artur Boruc, Pochettino seems to have settled on the Pole for now. He is unpredictable, occasionally volatile – the club had to investigate and later clear him of throwing a bottle at his own fans during a defeat by Tottenham – but has a strong CV. The 32-year-old's experience behind a youthful back four could be vital.

Southampton's defence will be well protected by an energetic midfield that suits Pochettino's pressing style. Few partnerships last season clicked as smoothly as the one enjoyed by Jack Cork and Morgan Schneiderlin, who made the most tackles (146) and interceptions (139) in the league last season, also sneaking into the top 10 for passes made (1,873). Wanyama, who arrives from Celtic with a lofty reputation after his man of the match display in that win over Barcelona, will have to work hard to get into the side and Southampton fans might have been slightly uneasy after critical comments by the former Kilmarnock manager, Kenny Shiels, about the 22-year-old Kenyan after his move. "Any time we played Celtic I would tell our lads not to worry about him being on the ball because he doesn't keep it very well," he said. "Lennon deserves a knighthood for getting someone to pay £12.5m. We found that when you gave Wanyama space he didn't have the natural instincts to know what to do with the ball. We'd press players like Joe Ledley and Charlie Mulgrew but we dropped off Wanyama and most of the time we got the ball back from him." It is probably not what Southampton wanted to hear about their new record signing but, if Wanyama can hassle opponents, win the ball back and then find his more creative team-mates, he will be doing his job.

Either way Southampton's fearless nature means they are unlikely to struggle for goals. Rickie Lambert, with 15 goals and nine assists in his debut season in the top flight, will be eager to maintain that form in a World Cup year and has been called up for England's friendly against Scotland this week. Lambert provides a focal point for Southampton's attack, takes a mean free-kick, works the channels tirelessly and finishes adroitly, although Pochettino may be conscious about finding more cover for a 31-year-old who has scored 103 goals for the club since 2009; Emmanuel Mayuka does not look like the answer. The manager may also be aware that plenty of strikers have been deadly in their first year in the Premier League, only to fade away afterwards.

With the direct running, pace and skill of Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez and Jason Puncheon behind him, Lambert will not want for chances. All three were excellent last year and arguably outshone Ramírez after his move from Bologna. The Uruguayan, perhaps used to a slower tempo, had a fitful first season in England and did not always appear to be on the same wavelength as his team-mates. He has much to prove.

So does Pochettino. While the fatalistic predictions that followed Adkins' sacking and his replacement by the Argentinian were proved wrong – despite not being fluent in English, he had no problem getting his message across to the players – Pochettino won only four of his 16 matches, though three of those came in stunning displays against Chelsea, City and Liverpool.

Yet there is still a tendency to overrate Southampton and forget how poor they were, for instance, in home defeats by Sunderland and QPR or that there were only six victories at St Mary's and plenty of bitty draws. Under both Adkins and Pochettino they often struggled against teams who sat back, growing frustrated and resorting to hitting it long to Lambert, and they won only six games against sides in the bottom half.

It rarely felt as if Adkins' face fitted under Cortese and Pochettino is the Italian's man. Not even a fightback from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge could save Adkins. Instead he was sacked two days later, a run of two defeats in 12 games brought to an abrupt and bitter end. Pochettino benefited from that ruthlessness. Now he has to steer clear of it.

Player focus infographic