As the competition takes its Christmas break, the club's national premiership side is in seventh place with 10 points from eight games.
That includes three wins, a draw and four losses.
It has a game in hand on most of the teams, although that is against the table-topping Auckland City, which has a perfect 24 points.
Things could be worse - two years ago, 10 points was what the team managed in an entire season.
But the club has moved on from then; both coach Paul O'Reilly and the players have made that clear.
Last season it yielded 24 points and it will require a big second half of the season to reach that again.
The good news is seven of its final 10 games are at home.
Defence has been Southern's platform and it is there it needs to be strong. When it is tough to break down, it normally picks up points.
This is not a side that will win high-scoring encounters by scoring lots of goals.
It is one that will grind out its wins on the back of a steely display at the back.
Not only have two of its losses come in the two games where it conceded three goals, creating turnovers is where it is dangerous.
The likes of Garbhan Coughlan, Ben Wade and Abdulla Al-Kalisy work well in space and are lethal on the counterattack.
Indeed, even Auckland City - in the abandoned match at the Caledonian Ground - was caught several times by Southern on the counter.
It is looking more creative in possession as well, although that remains a work in progress.
But all of it needs to become more consistent.
An away win against fourth-placed Hamilton Wanderers and a 10-man effort against Tasman United have shown what Southern can do.
However, there have also been others where the odd sloppy moment has cost the team.
While it can be harsh picking out one or two mistakes across 90 minutes, it is often those one or two moments that define games.
Red cards have been an issue, too, three being handed out in the past six games.
It is not something that has been prevalent in the team until recently, suggesting more of a blip than a problem. Either way, it is something the side will not want any more of.
Having to play 147 minutes with 10 men across three games is hard work and made the 3-1 win over Tasman especially significant.
With 10 games left, Southern remains in the hunt, although it does need to start picking up some more points.
After Auckland City on 24 points, Eastern Suburbs, Team Wellington and Hamilton round out the top four on 19, 17 and 16 points respectively.
Canterbury United is just outside that on 15 and Hawke's Bay United is a point ahead of Southern on 11.
The team now has a week off before regathering to prepare for its game against Eastern Suburbs on January 6, at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
