Dave Jones is following the philosophy of the late great Bill Shankly as he battles to get Saints' season back on track.

Shanks once told him: "Quitters never win and winners never quit!" and Jones vowed: "That is something I will never do!"

The pressure has eased slightly on the Southampton manager after a gritty 2-0 win over his old club Everton at The Dell.

It wasn't conclusive but it was a big improvement with the players at least showing renewed pride and passion.

There was no shortage of commitment and there were signs of the confidence returning after the second goal.

Jones accepts there is still a long way to go but he has taken heart from the way his side bounced back from the 5-0 defeat at Newcastle.

He said: "Last week was an embarrassment for everyone connected with the club and after that this was never going to be a pretty game. We looked nervous in the first half which was scrappy.

"But the players proved that when they are up against it they can dig in and full credit to them. They deserved the reception they got as they came off the pitch.

"Everyone in the club has now got their pride back and the important thing is to push on from here.

"It is going to take a lot of time. I'm not stupid enough to think that one result is going to ease things but we did show the supporters that everyone cares within the club."

With supporters' groups calling on Jones to quit, this game had been billed as make-or-break for the manager.

He admitted: "There have been a lot of chinese whispers that the players have lost respect and everything else but I speak to them all the time and I am sure I would get that feeling if it was there.

"People take great delight in telling me the rumours that this is my last game and that the club have interviewed and have someone waiting.

"But unless the chairman is a very good liar, that is not the information I have got. I never got the feeling that this game would decide everything but it would certainly have been hard walking down that touchline if we had lost.

"There was no hiding place but full credit to the players because they went out and got the result."

The game and possibly even the season swung two-and-a-half minutes after the break when Jo Tessem fired his first goal for the club.

He said: "It was nice to get off the mark especially as it meant we got some confidence back. It was important to play well after last week.

"We had to get Newcastle out of our system so that people remember this game instead. We had a tough week and put in a lot of hard work but it was worth it to get the result."

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