Billy Sharp says his fruitful pre-season has left him feeling ready for the new campaign.
The striker took his summer account to five goals last night as he netted a late leveller in the 1-1 draw at Bristol City.
And Sharp, whose goal came little over ten minutes after he came on as a substitute for injured midfielder Jack Cork, was pleased with his evening's work.
"I didn't think I was actually come on but, unfortunately for him, Corky got injured, he told Saints Player.
"I got a little ten minutes and I managed to get a goal as well.
"I'm feeling sharp – it's probably one of the best pre-seasons I've had since I've been playing.
"For the last few years I have had stop-start pre-seasons with little niggles, so I'm glad that I've managed to stay fit.
"I've had no injury issues and I'm feeling a lot fitter, so I'm raring to go."
Saints dominated play during the opening stages of yesterday's encounter at Ashton Gate, and were lucky to find themselves a goal down to Jon Stead's 36th-minute opener.
It seemed the Robins were set to record their third successive victory over Nigel Adkins' men until Sharp popped up to secure the draw, leaving the forward feeling his side got their just desserts.
"If anything, I thought we deserved a draw so it was a fair result," insisted Billy.
"Bristol City always seem to do well against Southampton. They frustrated us in the first half even though I thought we played pretty well.
"They got the goal, and that changed the game a little bit.
"It was one of my type of goals given it was only a yard out!" he continued.
"It was a good ball into the box and I knew Rickie [Lambert] was going to get his head on it. It was a great knock-down so I had the simple task of putting it away."
Saints now go into their final game of pre-season, with Italian giants Udinese next up at St Mary's this Saturday (7pm kick off).
And Sharp feels the friendly schedule has prepared him perfectly for life in the Barclays Premier League when the season kicks off at Manchester City in eleven days' time.
"We came back at the end of June knowing that [Man City] was six weeks away, but it's come round really quickly," he remarked.
"I'm happy it has come around because I'm ready to start the season. I feel really sharp, so if the gaffer says he needs me to play then I'm ready."
"We've got another tough game on Saturday. They'll be really good on the ball and will be a good test for us, but we should give them a good game because we're looking sharp."
To watch Billy's full interview with Saints Player, click here.
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