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Raheem Sterling says he is happy at Anfield and is hopeful the current impasse on his new contract will be sorted out soon.

The Reds star was speaking after scoring the decisive second goal in Liverpool's hard-fought 2-0 win over Southampton at St Mary's - a victory he believes proved they are on course to secure a Champions League spot.

Liverpool moved above Tottenham and into the top six after extending their unbeaten Premier League run to 10 matches.

Brendan Rodgers' side are now only three points adrift of third placed Arsenal after digging deep to secure victory in treacherous conditions on the south coast.

Sterling wrapped up the points with his 10th goal of the season after Philippe Coutinho's stunning strike had put the Reds ahead early on.

“It's a great win for us,” Sterling told the ECHO.

“We knew we had to come here and do the job and we did that. The boys defended really well and we took our chances when they came.

“You have to win dirty at times and we did that today. That was the most important thing.

“It's always good to get on the scoresheet and it was especially pleasing that it was the goal that killed the game off.

“We knew we were top four material from the start of the season. Obviously, it didn't go as planned at the start but now we're showing what we can do.

“Credit to the boys, we just keep to need keep performing and keep fighting and then we'll definitely get to where we want to be.

“All the boys are really up for it. Everyone is fighting hard for the team and defending with their lives.”

Sterling paid tribute to Coutinho, who produced a contender for Goal of the Season when his curling 25-yarder cannoned in off the underside of the bar.

“It was a great strike from Philippe,” he said.

“When he picked the ball up, he had nothing else on his mind.

“I was on and I was crying out for a pass but credit to him. It was a great finish.

“Not many players in the world can score a goal like that.

“Phil has got a great eye for a pass but you can see he's adding more goals to his game which is great to see.”

It's the first time since May 1985 that Liverpool have kept five successive away league clean sheets.

Once again Simon Mignolet made some key saves to thwart Southampton and Sterling admits he's delighted by how the Belgian keeper has transformed his Reds career.

“That's football - one week you can be hated, the next week you are loved,” Sterling said.

“It's huge credit to Simon because he's been magnificent. He made some great saves and commanded his box well.

“As an outfield player it's great to see. Hopefully he can continue that form and we can keep winning games.”

Sterling has yet to put pen to paper on a new contract with talks dragging on in recent months.

But the England international reiterated that he's happy at Anfield.

“We're working on it and hopefully it will be sorted soon,” Sterling said.