Southampton chairman Ralph Krueger says the team's success this season, despite boss Mauricio Pochettino and several key players leaving last year, is down to hard work, not luck. Krueger said the club's manifesto provided a template for a "Southampton way" of doing things.
"This is not lucky. A lot of sweat and tears were put in by everybody to make it possible," he told BBC South Today.
"The manifesto was very important - it says 'we've been to the edge of the abyss and come back stronger', and at the very end it says 'we are the Saints - it's not just a name, it's who we are'.
"It came out of a staff meeting when everybody was involved (and) we ended up with the Southampton way and the manifesto and everybody really bought in to it.
"It's about keeping moving and fighting to move forward and get better every day. That's taken us to where we are today."
Former Netherlands and Barcelona star Ronald Koeman arrived at the club in June 2014 following Pochettino's departure.
Krueger said: "We met with Ronald at Heathrow and spent about four hours in conversation. We came out of that room convinced that he was our man. We didn't even interview anyone else.
"It was his straightforward and honest approach that appealed and he's backed up everything he spoke about.
"He was the best possible hire for us."
