Daniel Peretz stood in front of the St Mary's faithful on Saturday and watched another Championship point slip away. The goalless draw with Bolton left Southampton seventh in the table after 11 games, and the Israeli goalkeeper says the message inside the dressing room is blunt: dominant performances at home need to produce three points, not one.

"We want to win the league so we know that we need to win those games," Peretz told BBC Radio Solent. "Especially when we are dominant we needed to focus and have more tempo, so it's on ourselves but we will learn what we need to do and go to the next one."

Southampton began the campaign on minus four points as a consequence of an EFL deduction carried over from last season, so their haul of 17 points from 11 matches represents a significant effort just to reach mid-table. Three of those 11 games have ended all square, and it is those stalemates that Peretz identifies as the ground the club must claw back.

"We cannot win every single game but we're aiming for that," he said, "and especially when we're dominant, we're home, we need to win."

Clean sheets building confidence

The frustration of Saturday's draw is tempered by a defensive record that has improved sharply in recent weeks. Southampton had to wait until their derby win over Portsmouth for their first clean sheet of the season, but they have now kept three shutouts in total, with the last two coming in back-to-back fixtures.

Peretz credits collective work during the recent international break for that upturn. The club's coaching staff used the fortnight to focus specifically on defensive organisation, and the results have shown on the pitch.

"We improve every game and the clean sheet is not only mine, it's all the team because we worked really good in the break," Peretz said. "The staff did a lot of work on how to improve our defensive game and not only the defenders, so a good word for all of the team because it's a team achievement."

The logic is straightforward: a side that does not concede cannot lose. Southampton have proved that much. The next step, Peretz acknowledges, is finding a way to score more consistently when they have the upper hand in matches.

"When you keep the clean sheet you cannot lose so that's a great base, but again some more things were missing and we will also work on them to see how we can score more," he added.

Peretz's growing role at St Mary's

The 24-year-old joined Southampton on loan from Bayern Munich last season before the move was made permanent, and he has now made 39 appearances for the club, keeping 11 clean sheets across that spell. His presence between the posts has provided a sense of stability the Saints have leaned on during a turbulent start to this Championship campaign.

Manager Steffen Eckert's side head into the coming weeks knowing that the gap between seventh place and the automatic promotion spots is one they can close. The points are there to be won; the challenge, as Peretz frames it, is finding the cutting edge to take them.

With three draws already banked, converting just one of those into a victory would have placed Southampton considerably higher in the table. That is the straightforward arithmetic driving the squad's focus as the season moves into its next phase.

Frequently asked

Where are Southampton in the Championship table?
After 11 games Southampton sit seventh, having accumulated 17 points despite starting the season on minus four points due to an EFL deduction.
How many clean sheets has Daniel Peretz kept for Southampton?
Peretz has kept 11 clean sheets in 39 appearances for Southampton since joining the club on loan from Bayern Munich last season, with three of those coming in the current campaign.
Why did Southampton start the season on minus four points?
Southampton began the Championship season on minus four points as a result of an EFL points deduction carried over from the previous campaign.