Saints were almost unrecognisable from the floundering side of just a few weeks ago, as Wotte selected a traditional Championship 4-4-2, with the best available blend of experience and youthful promise.
The defence was full of experience with only the much improved Lloyd James under 22. Likewise Wotte went for experience up front with Saganowski and Euell combining, with Euell doing much of the Heskey-style 'donkey' work to make space for his free-scoring partner, as Saints went direct.
It was in midfield though that Saints academy came to the fore, with Wotte making a bold move by selecting David McGoldrick in central midfield over the experience of Paul Wotton, a gamble which had it backfired would have had the Dutchman heavily criticised.
The success of the midfield diamond was in the discipline of the players. Surman and Lallana gave Saints decent width, Gillett held his position in front of the back four and McGoldrick recovered from a nervous start to show real tenacity.
First half - nervous start, superb finishing
It is worth remembering that Saints started off looking like a side in the bottom three, nervous, unable to retain possession and lacking in confidence.
Perhaps that start lulled high-flying Preston into a false sense of security, as they had little answer when Saints slowly, but surely starting coming back into the game.
The crowd responded as Saints went through the gears in a uncharacteristically direct manner, throwing long balls towards the willing Euell and with Lloyd James crossing on sight no matter how deep.
Saints have of course looked good in the first half on numerous occasions only for missed chances and brittle confidence to see them fall behind. A lucky break for Surman helped settle the nerves as the ball broke to him on the edge of the box and he drilled a sweet left foot into the bottom corner.
Confidence returning, Saints might have been two ahead even earlier as Euell's header from Skacel's pinpoint cross was tipped away from the top left-hand corner by Lonergan.
No matter, as the rejuvenated Saganowski scored the second with an even sweeter strike with a volley from 25 yards that flew into the top corner to the disbelief of the home crowd who were delighting in the desire and quality shown by the players.
Shackles off, Saints added quality passing football to their direct game, making for an attractive and effective style that hinted at what could have been had the Dutch experiment been abandoned sooner.
And it got better as Saganowski somehow surpassed his earlier strike picking up the ball inside the Saints half and jinking his way through a wafer-thin Preston defence and finishing with aplomb to send the home crowd into raptures.
A sense of disbelief and a stunned silence filled the ground as the long-suffering home fans wondered just what on earth was going on. A half-time text from fellow columnist Saint Bobby summed it up: 'Mental.'
Second half - Saints hold their nerve
An understandably angry Preston manager Alan Irvine made three changes at the break to try and spur his under-performing side into action. For all that Saints were good, Preston were poor as the relative league positions may have led to complacency.
Saints kept their shape well in the second half while still stroking the ball about with ease, as they looked to hold onto their lead. Tellingly they kept a high line, nullifying the threat of the giant Parkin, such a menace in the box, but a lumbering sack of spuds outside it.
Indeed one of the highlights of the second half was seeing the tigerish Gillett winning a header against a man nearly a foot and many, many stone
heavier.
Saints were comfortable until Preston scored a beauty against the run of play, with a finish in keeping with the high quality of Saints' three first half goals, as Wallace curled a lovely shot into the top left corner.
While there were some nervous moments with Saints home record and the infamous 3-4 reverse to Leeds in fans' memories, Saints saw out the rest of the game relatively comfortably, with Lloyd James and Kelvin Davis keeping the scoreline at 3-1 with some alert defending.
As Preston went route one, Wotte responded by going five at the back, giving the promising Liptak his debut to see out the game.
Verdict
Such was the style and comfort of this victory, many were left wondering just how on earth Saints are in the drop zone and Preston in the play-off places, but the real story is in the changes made by players and coach alike.
After a difficult week for Mark Wotte, not helped by his dismissive comments about the pre-match protest, he deserves huge credit for several key decisions, ably helped by a set of players clearly up for the challenge.
Firstly, was the move to restore 4-4-2, giving Saints width, a threat up front and most importantly each player a clear idea of exactly who was playing where and what their job was.
Secondly, was the restoration of Euell and Skacel to the line-up who went a long way to justifying their high wages and added vital experience to attack and defence.
Finally, was that Saints had done their homework on Preston, keeping a high line to nullify the threat of Parkin and matching their width with Surman and Lallana holding their positions well.
Of course this was just one game when it all went right for us and it may still be too little, too late to keep us up, if we fail to keep up the exceptional quality of our finishing. That said, we are only three points off fourth from bottom with a game in hand and will go into the Cardiff game with more confidence and momentum.
On a personal note, I went into this game with as little hope as I've ever had, having not seen a win in some fifteen games this season, and spent much of the second half a nervous wreck despite the relative comfort of the performance. The last minute 'disco' was a tremendous outpouring of relief as a little hope and a little pride was restored in this most humbling of seasons.
It was a reminder of the great support we do have, with players and fans spurring each other on and a series of deserved ovations for Saganowski, McGoldrick and the team as a whole as they closed out the win.
The fans have been desperate for something to respond to on the pitch. They finally got it and long may it continue.