Ryan Bertrand hailed Fraser Forster's return and Saints' flawless performance against Watford

Saints ended a run of three straight defeats in all competitions against the Hornets and welcomed back Forster, who had been out since last March with a knee injury.

The England goalkeeper kept a clean-sheet – although was barely threatened on the evening – with Shane Long and Dusan Tadic’s goals enough to send Ronald Koeman’s side to their first victory since Boxing Day.

Bertrand, who played in an unfamiliar role as the left centre-back, admitted that Forster was a sight for sore eyes.

“I was very happy for him to come back tonight and get a clean-sheet, so it’s a fantastic return for him and a massive boost for us,” he said.

“It’s good, he fills you with confidence. It’s good to have him back.”

He added: “I was fortunate that I kept him going for a few months when he had his injury.

“He’s been working so hard since the day it happened and he’s done wonders to come back so early and be in the condition he’s in is fantastic.”

Bertrand was pleased that Saints cut-out the mistakes that had started to creep into their peformances recently.

“I think sometimes, luck hasn’t been on our side. We’ve been getting punished for a few mistakes here and there and you know the other team have capitalised on that,” he said.

“Tonight was a flawless game from us and a well deserved result."

He continued: “It’s good to get that win under our belts. It was much needed against a difficult opposition.

“I think the boys done very well tonight, but we’re not getting carried away yet, there’s still plenty of football to play this season and hopefully we can keep that consistency.”

The England full-back was deployed at centre-back in a five-man defence for Saints.

“It was alright,” he said. “It was left of the three at the back. We have a good understanding of each-other and that was a new position but it wasn’t too bad, it worked tonight.

“There was a bit more central duties to do but then, other than that, when we’re on the ball I’m in my left back domain anyway.

“It’s not too bad to pick the right passes from there."

He added: “We were right on top of the front two. We know they’re a threat so it was important that me, Jose and Virgil were right on top of them.”

The former Chelsea man admitted that there wasn’t elation in the Saints dressing room, only that they were focusing on the next match against West Brom on Saturday.

“Not really too much, just business as usual – focused and we’re not getting carried away,” he said.