Southampton flying on and off the pitch as they sign Charlie Austin and defeat West Brom

The headline grabber was without a doubt the signing of Charlie Austin, which came as a genuine surprise.

To say it was a statement in a rather glib fashion doesn’t do it justice though.

This seemed to be more than the signing of a single player. This appeared a clear and very loud message directly to Ronald Koeman.

Austin has long been linked with Saints, but at every turn the club has played it down.

He does not really fit their publically stated transfer policy at all, and yet still he was signed.

Saints have not really been prepared to do anything like that in recent years, and yet this time they did.

Surely part of the reason this has been done is to satisfy their manager by giving him what he, and in the process most of the club’s fans, wanted.

Ronald Koeman’s mood and tone has wavered over the past couple of months and his frustrations have started become quite clear.

After a poor recent run, and with Koeman clearly still needing some convincing to commit himself to a new contract with Saints at some point in the not too distant future, this was a statement to him.

Koeman wanted Austin, it was his number one priority, and whether it fitted the bill for what Saints usually wish to do in the transfer market or not under the current board, they went out and got it done for him.

You cannot get a clearer signal of intent than that.

At £4m with his QPR contract heading towards a finish it looks as though they have got a bargain. A proven goalscorer whose presence gives Saints breathing space to see where they want to go in the summer, with increasing speculation that Graziano Pelle could depart.

It also gives Jay Rodriguez the time he needs to really get himself right before attempting another comeback.

On the pitch, the statements were just as clear.

Victory over West Brom, and an emphatic one at that, made it two wins in four days for Saints.

On Wednesday afternoon there was genuine concern about where Saints’ season was heading.

By Saturday tea time, with a new signing, six points quickly snaffled and an ever smaller gap to the likely European places, it was suddenly all sunshine and roses in the St Mary’s garden again.

Like Watford before them, West Brom surprised with a below par display, but again that was partly due to Saints, who were excellent.

In particular, the midfield duo of James Ward-Prowse and Steven Davis were outstanding.

Playing three centre halves again was a gamble of sorts by Koeman, but once more he proved his canny knack of getting it right.

Suddenly, with the goalscoring problems seemingly gone, things are looking up again, and Saints will not fear a couple of tough games which lie in wait with trips to Manchester United and Arsenal up next.

If in recent weeks part of Saints’ problems have stemmed from not scoring early when they might have done, you could not ask for more than what Ward-Prowse delivered against the Baggies.

His peach of a free kick from outside the left side of the penalty area, curled over the wall, dipped and left Boaz Myhill picking the ball out of his net after just five minutes.

It’s the kind of finish we have known for so long Ward-Prowse is capable of, but which, much to his own frustration, he has struggled to deliver for Saints.

It changed the feel of the game, with West Brom already knowing they would have to do more than sit back and make life difficult for Saints.

After Craig Gardner had missed a decent chance to level with a free header from eight yards out, and Martin Atkinson had denied him a penalty after he was inadvertently caught by Ward-Prowse, Saints made it 2-0.

Atkinson had no hesitation in pointing to the spot this time as Matt Targett was caught from behind by a clip from Craig Dawson.

Myhill dived to his left far too early and Ward-Prowse was cool enough to see it and steer the spot kick in the other direction.

It was nearly game over before half time as Targett’s drilled low show beat Myhill but was cleared off the line by a dramatic sliding block from James McClean.

Saints stepped up their dominance yet further in the second period, and never looked in any danger of walking away with anything other than three points.

They wrapped up the victory on 72 minutes, as, for the second time in a week, Dusan Tadic climbed off the bench to score.

This goal started with an audacious backheel on the halfway line by Shane Long to Steven Davis. He charged forward and produced a lovely reverse pass into the left side of the area to find Tadic.

The Serbian had time and space and made no mistake with a left footed finish across goal and into the far corner.

Such has been Saints’ solidity in their new formation that it took until 85 minutes for Fraser Forster to have a save to make on his comeback against Watford, that the solitary shot on target all game for the Hornets.

Against the Baggies he literally had no saves to make, as they failed to get a single effort on goal.

It was another statement on a day of them at St Mary’s.