Mauricio Pochettino believes Gaston Ramirez is “recovering his confidence” after seeing the £12m man score his first Premier League goal since April.

Ramirez arrived at St Mary’s a year and a half ago to much fanfare but has endured an up and down time of it.

He has struggled to establish himself a place in the team under Pochettino and hadn’t scored in the league since netting against West Ham eight months ago before his strike at Everton.

Ramirez has been linked with a myriad of clubs in the January transfer window but Pochettino feels the Uruguayan international is starting to find some form and belief once again.

“I think it’s clear that he’s in a process of adaption. It’s taking him some time to adapt,” reflected Pochettino.

“He got some minutes of playing time, he scored a great goal and we hope with more time and more games he will be able to recover that confidence that he needs to be playing even better in the future.”

Ramirez was introduced as a second half sub at Goodison Park with his side trailing 1-0.

His fierce drive from 25 yards moved in the air and went straight through Everton keeper Joel Robles to bring Saints briefly level, and Ramirez was booked in the celebration for removing his shirt which never returned meaning he had to wear a replacement without his number on it for the remainder of the game.

“I am very happy with his performance,” said Pochettino.

“He is in a process right now of recovering his confidence and his attacking style.

“He is on the right path.”

There were also a few moments of magic on the day from Adam Lallana who was again a constant threat to the opposition.

In one particularly eye catching moment he evoked memories of Matt Le Tissier with a brilliant two touch flick to spin in behind two Everton defenders.

The only thing missing this time was the finish as he fired wide.

“I think the team overall played very well, not just one player,” said Pochettino when asked about Lallana’s display.

“They put in a great performance, I am very happy with the team’s performance but I am disappointed with the result.”