Shane Long says anyone who dismissed Saints after their recent run of five defeats didn’t have a clue what they were talking about.

After a blistering start to the campaign, Ronald Koeman’s side hit their first rocky patch, beginning with the loss to Manchester City at the end of November.

That began a streak which also saw them fall to Arsenal, Manchester United, Burnley and then Sheffield United, in the Capital One Cup.

Despite that, Saints’ performances in a number of those games were good, and Saturday’s 3-0 win over Everton leaves them fifth in the Premier League at Christmas.

Long, therefore, believes anyone who said their bubble had burst will be proved wrong.

“I think lots of people don’t have a clue what they are talking about, saying stuff like that,” said the forward.

“I think if you’d came to watch us and seen the games, you would be happy with the performances.

“You’d be disappointed with the results like we were, but we knew that if we kept doing the right things that things would turn our way and we’d get that rub of the green and take our chances when they come.

“That was the case [on Saturday]. I think after the first goal, we kind of played a bit more freely and caused them a lot of problems.

“To come up with two more to see the game out and keep the clean sheet, it was a positive day all round.”

Long added: “I think up to Tuesday [against Sheffield United] we were happy with our performances. “Obviously, not happy with the results, but we knew things weren’t going our way.

“We knew if we kept doing what we were doing then things would go right again.

“Tuesday was a bit disappointing because we never really got going, never really got playing.

“When you have 4,000 fans turning up, it was a tough defeat to take, so we just decided that we would win [on Saturday] at all costs – good or bad football, we’re going to win.

“Luckily, we managed to pass the ball around as well.”

Long also praised the “immense” performance of 19-year-old midfielder Harrison Reed on his full Premier League debut.

“I call him Ray Donovan, because he just cleans up in midfield,” said Long, referring to the TV character, who is a “fixer” that makes problems disappear for people.

“I was delighted for him, because he trains hard and I was really impressed since the first day I came in.

“He was waiting for his chance. It is hard to get a game with the quality we have in midfield, but two suspensions and Jack Cork injured as well, it has given him a chance to shine and he took it.

“I thought he was immense and did really, really well stopping the ball getting to the attack and breaking up play. It was good to watch.”