Shane Long is desperately hoping Ronald Koeman will stick with him up front after his impressive performance at Chelsea.

For the first real time since his £12m move to Saints last summer, Long was handed the chance at Stamford Bridge to start a Premier League game in his favoured position.

Koeman preferred him to Graziano Pelle, who was dropped for the game having failed to score in the top-flight since before Christmas.

Although Long could not find the net himself, he formed a menacing partnership with Sadio Mane and caused Chelsea significant problems with his energetic display in the 1-1 draw.

“Obviously, I was delighted to play up front and delighted that the gaffer had that confidence in me to go out there and play that striker role,” said the Republic of Ireland international.

“I’ve been biding my time for a while now, waiting for my chance, and hopefully the gaffer’s seen enough today to keep me in there, but, if not, I’ll be ready and raring to go whenever he needs me.”

Long has only very occasionally had the chance to operate up front this season, but normally just as a substitute or in cup action.

Most of his involvement in the league has come in a wider role, so it was a welcome change for the 28-year-old to play as a central striker from the start.

It was also the first time that his speed had been combined with Mane’s through the middle, and Long revealed that he had enjoyed linking up with the Senegal international.

“We both kind of play pacy football and try and test in behind,” he said.

“Sadio’s a great player to get in between the lines and turn and run at defences.

“Obviously, when things are in trouble, I’ll stretch them in behind as well.

“It’s a different option for the gaffer to play and hopefully he enjoyed what he saw.”

In the six weeks leading up to Sunday’s visit to Chelsea, Saints had struggled to find the sort of spark they showed throughout much of the rest of the campaign.

However, the verve and creativity in the final third that had been so previously evident looked to be back on display at Stamford Bridge, particularly in the first half.

Long agreed that was the case and suggested the team-building trip to Davos in Switzerland last week had a lot to do with it.

“Maybe the break came at the right time as well,” he said. “It gave us time to recuperate.

“We got away as a team and then came back and trained really hard all week.

“The break kind of came at the right time for us.

“We were all eager to get going again and prove ourselves against who, in my opinion, are going to be the league champions.

“We can take a lot of heart and confidence out of it and hopefully bring it into Burnley on Saturday.”

Long believes the draw at Chelsea could yet prove to be a pivotal result for Saints.

“Every point is vital,” he said. “There’s not a lot of teams that will come to Stamford Bridge and take points home.

“The main thing was the performance, not the result. Just going home feeling confident in ourselves that we can go up against the best team in the league.”