Southampton manager, Ronald Koeman praised his side after beating Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park. Goals from Toby Alderweireld, Sadio Mane and Ryan Bertrand moved the Saints back to the top four, just three points behind 3rd place, Manchester United.

After a fairytale start to the season, Koeman’s side endured a run of five straight defeats in all competitions. The run came to end after victory over Everton last week and Southampton made it two wins in a row today:

“We had some weeks where we didn’t have all the players available and that is sometimes difficult because we don’t have the quality in numbers,” Koeman said. “We had (Dusan) Tadic, (Victor) Wanyama and (Shane) Long on the bench today and it means we can change it. It is important we show the spirit and belief we showed – we need everybody.”

Southampton host Chelsea next and Koeman is aware that he’ll need to use the full depth of his squad to maintain their position in the busy Christmas period.