The 28 year old departed the club to join Championship side West Brom on loan in February, having fallen out of favour with then-boss Ivan Juric.
But the Baggies slipped out of the top six and into a mid-table finish by the end of the season, and Armstrong only hit three goals in 16 games.
He matched that strike total in two weeks before the last international break, with goals against Hull City, Middlesbrough and Derby County.
Saints were initially open to selling Armstrong when he left, but the club’s number nine, and play-off final winning hero, holds a different perspective.
He told the Daily Echo: “I didn’t have any doubts, but I know there was doubts from you guys. I think you’ve got to just take everything as it comes.
Adam Armstrong is one of Will Still’s most important players(Image: Stuart Martin)
“The only reason I went on loan to West Brom was to play games and I couldn’t guarantee that from the manager that we had at the time.
“It was a totally honest conversation that we had and I just wanted to go and play games. I’ve always said that during my career.
“No matter what, I want to try and play as many as I can. That was that. Then I had a chat with Will Still in the summer and it was no different for me.
“I was always coming back here in the summer to try and get back to the Premier League, and that’s where I’m at in my mind now.
“Yes, there were a lot of conversations on, ‘What’s he going to do?’, and ‘What are the other boys going to do?’, coming back to the Championship.
“But I think everyone’s on it now and we just want to get back to the Premier League. There’s still a core group of us who got promoted last time.”
Armstrong added: “If we can try and share our knowledge of the league with all the new boys to try and get back, which is every kid’s dream, we will.”
It is clear that Armstrong, who netted 24 goals and set up another 13 the last time Saints were in the second tier, is here to stay, and here to play.
The next question was where on the pitch? He started the first three matches of the campaign as the central number nine, but with limited success.
Manager Will Still has since acknowledged that he likes Armstrong in the right pocket, while he has also operated on the left of the central striker.
“I feel comfortable anywhere across the front three, I can influence the game, whether it’s creating chances or scoring goals,” Armstrong insisted.
“I’ve played up front all my life so it’s nothing new. People say, ‘You can’t play number nine’, but I scored 28 goals in the league playing number nine.
“It’s not something that I can’t do, but maybe it’s about other people around me. In the last Championship season I was playing with Che Adams.
Che Adams and Adam Armstrong are best pals off the pitch(Image: )
“Che was class for me and we had a great partnership. Then you had Wee Man off the left, or sometimes Sam Edozie. We had quality all round.
“I feel like that’s the same this year as well in number nine where we had obviously Big Ross [Stewart], and Damion [Downs] and Cam [Archer].
“There’s a lot of attackers so he’s not just going to play one number nine every game. It’s going to be an open conversation, every game as it comes.
“The gaffer might feel I’m best off the left one game, or the right, or striker. As long as I’m on the pitch, I need to make sure I’m influencing the game.”
Armstrong should have put a fourth goal of the season on the board in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Swansea City, but others had even bigger chances.
But despite having the fewest touches of any 90-minute outfield player (28), his eight shots is at least double the total managed by everyone else.
Armstrong, Leo Scienza and Cameron Archer linked up well to all but destroy Swansea, and are a workable combination if they can find a finishing touch.
“We’ve looked back on the game and on another day we win by four or five,” Armstrong admitted. “It’s them fine margins in football.
“If we win 1 or 2-0, everyone goes home happy. I think it frustrates everyone, footballers are the same. It was a game we knew that we had to win.
“But we have to take positives from it and move on because the game’s come thick and fast. A few of the draws could have gone our way.
“I think we’re finding the balance now of having the ball and dominating, so it’s up to us at the end of the pitch to try and put them chances away.
“It’s been a bit of a slow start, but I think we’re finding our feet now with a lot of the new boys coming into the group, and they’re settling in nicely now.
“It’s still early days, we have only played 10 games, there’s a long way to go.”
👀 A look at tonight’s #SkyBetChampionship table… #EFL pic.twitter.com/yvyJCSgk2r
— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) October 18, 2025
For Armstrong, it might be the goal that has meant the least to Saints this season which could actually end up being one of his most important.
His first goal of the campaign came in added time of the dismal 3-1 defeat to Hull City, where the club’s vice captain had come on as substitute.
Armstrong had been benched for three successive games previously, after he was hooked at half-time of the defeat to Stoke City, but started all four since.
“You could say that, you obviously can say that because I scored, and I think it’s just being back in the team and I’m feeling confident again,” he said.
“It’s always nice to score a goal, but when you don’t get the three points, it means nothing to me. So that’s my mentality and it always has been.
“I put the team first, and if my goals can chip in, then even better. We’ve been on the brink of winning games and we haven’t quite finished them off.
“We’ve got a real thing now where we can move forward and get some wins going to climb up that table. Win two games and you’re back up there.
“It’s going to be like that all year round, knowing how this league works. You can have a three game week, win all three and you’re right in there.
“In this league, everyone can beat everyone, so you have to be on your game every time. It’s just kind of drilling that into the new boys and younger boys.
“We’re going to need everyone, you know, in every minute. And like everyone has said, let’s hope we can kickstart all of that now on Tuesday.”
It is back-to-back away games this week for the second time this season, visiting seventh-placed Bristol City, and relegation-threatened Blackburn.
“I think that’s just part of the job and we enjoy the away games as well, with all the support that we bring, no matter where we go,” Armstrong insisted.
“We go into them away games still with confidence that we can win the game and there’ll be no difference there when we go to Bristol on Tuesday.
“Bristol is always a tough place to go. I think we found that last time when we were in the Championship, on the back of our unbeaten run.
“We know the quality we’ve got in the dressing room. If everyone brings their A game, we can dominate, score a few goals and get the three points.”