Southampton were playing second division football once again at the start of the 1960 – 1961 league season and enjoyed a decent season back in the second division as they finished off the campaign in  resounding eighth place. They reached the quarter finals of the league cup only suffering a 4-2 defeat against Burnley in the last eight of the cup competition.
The 1961 – 1962 season saw Southampton improve their league standing even further as they enjoyed a sixth place finish in the second division. Derek Reeves was in prolific form for the club and Terry Paine was beginning to establish himself in English football.
An eleventh position finish at the end of the 1962 – 63 season was followed up the following campaign by a convincing fifth place finish. The Saints enjoyed a fine run in the 1963 FA Cup as they reached the semi finals of the competition, narrowly suffering a 1-0 defeat against Manchester unite din a match played at Villa Park.
Southampton became a really strong side during the 1964 – 1965 campaign as they finished the season off in fourth position as they narrowly missed out on promotion in to the top flight as Martin Chivers was in prolific form for the club.