Saints defender Toby Alderweireld believes the 3-0 win against Everton has given the team a valuable injection of confidence.

Ronald Koeman’s side ended a run of five straight defeats in style, as they produced a commanding performance at St Mary’s on Saturday.

The result has lifted spirits ahead of the rest of the festive run, which sees Saints visit Crystal Palace on Boxing Day, before hosting Chelsea and Arsenal, then making the trip to Manchester United.

Alderweireld said: “I think it was very important after a couple of defeats.

“The confidence was a little bit down. We had a lot of suspensions and injuries, so, yeah, we just had to work very hard and give everything.

“We did that and we deserved to win.”

The on-loan Atletico Madrid star added: “It is important to get three points now and get our confidence back.

“We know we can play good football, but sometimes we were a little bit unlucky so, yeah, we have to work very hard in every game.

“If we work very hard, play good football like today, we’ll be okay.

“If you lose now, you miss points and there would be a lot of pressure on the game at Palace.

“Now we can work very good until next Friday and prepare ourselves very good for the game.

“If we play like [we did against Everton], we have a chance to win.”