Southampton enjoyed their finest ever season in their history during the 1965 – 1966 season as they finished off the campaign ins second place in the second division, which in turn resulted in the club gaining promotion in to the top flight for the first time in the clubs history. They crashed out of the league cup and FA cup in the third round as they suffered defeats against Hull City and Burnley in the cup competitions.
The Saints struggled in the first division in their debut season there as they narrowly avoided relegation finishing the campaign off in 19th place. They reached the fourth round of the FA cup; however they suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat against Bristol city in the competition. Their finest season during the 1960’s would have to be regarded as the 1969 – 1969 campaign as they Saints recorded a seventh position finish at the end of the season in the first division under the guidance of Ted Bates. They also reached the quarter finals of the league cup, however suffered a 1-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in the last eight losing the match 1-0.
Mike Channon and Terry Paine were outstanding for the club during the 1969 – 1970 season; however they only managed to finish the season off in 19th position, narrowly escaping relegation.