Svensson warning shots

All the way, in fact, to the World Cup Finals next summer when he hopes to be playing in the Sweden side against England. Given his low-key performances on the flanks for Saints since he was recruited in the summer for £700,000 from Elfsborg, there must have been a suspicion he would pose very little threat on an international stage.

Not any more. Restored to his preferred central midfield role, he demonstrated the industry, creativity and menace that could wreck defences far better than Leicester's.

Relieved to have opened his Premiership account, Svensson said: 'I scored a lot in Sweden but my confidence suffered when I had a wider role here at the start of the season. I feel much happier in the middle.

'I moved to the Premiership because it is the toughest league in the world and feel that if I can perform here, I can perform anywhere - especially in the World Cup, which is my dream.

'I played in all the qualifying games for Sweden but I'm not taking my place in the Finals for granted.'

At the moment, his priorities are with his club who climbed out of the relegation zone thanks to his goals and the strikes by Beattie and Pahars.

In contrast, Leicester were appalling. Manager Dave Bassett said: 'Our best player was Trevor Benjamin ... and that's because he didn't leave the bench.'