Blues manager Kieran McKenna believes there are lessons to be learnt from every game his side plays in the Premier League.
Town have so far picked up two points from their four games, drawing the last two at home to Fulham and at Brighton, having been defeated in their very tough opening two fixtures against champions Manchester City and Liverpool.
"I think there are so many different things between each game,” McKenna said when asked what lessons he has learnt from the matce so far.
"For us, we know each game is not going to be us dominating every moment of a game, maybe like it has been in previous seasons at times.
"It is about learning how to manage different game states, when we are on top of games and dominating like we have done in spells of games and home games especially.
"It is about the execution to go and turn that into clear chances and goals - that needs to improve and we have been working on that.
"I’m sure the players, individually and collectively, will grow and adapt to the league and our execution, in terms of breaking down a defence and taking opportunities when they arise, has to keep developing. I’m sure it will do.
"There have been other phases of games where the opponent has been on top, which can happen in games and we have to defend collectively and have good organisation.
"We feel that’s very important in this division, you can’t afford go off-strategy or play individually at any moment. It has to be as a collective and we have defended collectively well, whether that’s higher up the pitch or lower and deeper on the pitch.
"We have shown we can be really difficult to create against. I think the players have learned a lot already, on and off the ball. They felt the level, but they have also felt confidence in how competitive we have been in certain parts of certain games.
"Again, we have played certainly two of the best teams in the division, and two others games, so a small sample but we have been competitive for chunks of time.
"And, of course, we have taken two points and two results from two teams who are probably outside the top three of the division. The players are learning all the time and we are enjoying the journey we are on.
The Blues boss says his side go into every match to play on the front foot but that that’s not always possible.
"You never know how each game is going to pan out in the Premier League,” he said. "Our intent going into every game is the same - it is to be the dominant side and brave and aggressive, with and without the ball.
"But it is not always going to pan out that way. For us in this division, you know it is not going to be the case every week.
"When the game isn’t in your favour, when you are not the dominant team with the ball, we know we have to be really, really good without the ball and find other ways to be a threat and hurt the opposition.
"Last week [at Brighton] was maybe an example of where we had to defend more than we would have wanted to, but in general I thought we stood up really well to that challenge and showed how to defend for phases in the game.
"You look across the four games of the season - probably large chunks of the Liverpool game, Fulham at home - you would see us as really aggressive and really brave in large chunks of both games and a team that really imposes itself on the opposition.
"But we know in different games, different moments in games and certainly away from home, we know that’s not always going to be the case.
"For us to be competitive in this league and be successful at the end of the season, we have to show a lot of different strings to our bow, that’s for sure. I think this weekend will be the same.
"Southampton are a team that challenge every opponent they come up against, in terms of how they hold the ball and the possession that they have, and we know we will have to answer the questions that they will pose this weekend.
"It should be a good game and we are looking forward to it. We will have to show, again, all the qualities that we have shown across the first four games.”
Asked at what point a philosophy might need to change if it’s not working in order to pick up points, he added: "It is not about not working. It is about going to Manchester City and saying we want to press them hard and be brave and have the ball. But you know with the level of opponent and players in this division, that might not be the case.
"It is about how you respond to that and what else you have in your locker. If the game isn’t exactly how you envisage it and how you want it to be, then it is about finding other ways to be competitive in that game.
"It might mean finding defensive resilience or organisation, trying to score on transitions or set plays.
"To be successful where we are as a club, I believe we are going to have to find success in all of those phases. I don’t think our intent will ever change and I don’t think it needs to or we will want to.
"We are always going to try and impose ourselves on the opposition and be the dominant side with the ball and be aggressive without the ball.
"Last week was a pretty good example, sometimes the level of opponent and players, they get the better of certain phases in a game. Then it’s about us showing strength across all phases, showing strength in our defending and defending set plays, showing strength in our attacking transitions and trying to be a threat to their goal.
"I think the reality is that we are going to have to show all of those things nearly every single game this season. We are hopefully going to have times when we dominate phases of a game, but it is not going to be every single minute.
"We prided ourselves, even last year going into the Championship, on being a team that can be strong across all phases. In attacking games, we could really be a massive threat, scoring 93 league goals and all different types of goals, and one of the best high pressing teams in the league.
"But also last season, as we were adapting to the division, our record of keeping clean sheets away from home was also fantastic. We won lots of games away from home 1-0.
"We went from a team that didn’t score too many from set plays a couple of years ago to being one of the highest set play scorers in the country. This year, we know we won’t have as many set plays but we still want to be really effective when we get them.
"For me, it is not about changing from the way we are or something not working. Our intent will be the same for every game, as it has been for the first four games, but it is also about knowing, especially away from home, we are going to come up against different challenges and we have to be very strong in every aspect.”
Regarding being forced to change plans, he continued: "There are different ways to describe it, how complex is your Plan A? If your Plan A is just doing the same thing over and over, then it’s not very complex.
"We like to think our Plan A is to be outstanding in all phases and every moment of the game – and we will keep working towards that.
"If you can be that, you give yourself a better chance to be competitive against different teams and different moments in games across the season – and you will have a better chance to gain points. We have developed that over the last couple of seasons and we will continue to try and develop it.”