Alan Shearer thanked Saints for giving him his first crack at top flight football after notching his 250th league goal.

Shearer's seventh goal of the season on Saturday was his 13th against Saints. But the first 23 of his 250 were scored during his five years at The Dell.

Shearer, who rates his favourite Saints goal - he scored 43 in all - as his first against Arsenal in April 1988, said: "Southampton are a top club.

"They got me off to a good start, I've got a lot of affection for them and owe them a great deal. They set me on my way."

Shearer, 33, had been denied by a spectacular save from Antti Niemi before latching on to a Jermaine Jenas through ball and scoring the only goal just before half-time.

He added: "I couldn't have hit the first one any sweeter, I struck it as well as I could have done and somehow he's pushed it away.

"Fortunately I got my own back a couple of minutes later. I said in the week I'd love to score the winner and that's how it's turned out. It's made for a good weekend so I'm delighted.

"We played some good stuff at times and, but for some better finishing, we could have scored one or two more but Southampton worked us all the way and didn't let us settle.

Shearer, who has now scored six of his side's eight league goals this season and their only two at home in four matches, added: "It was very important that we got the three points, which has doubled our tally.

"Confidence was low before today. The whole football club is relieved, from the chairman down. It's nice to see one or two smiling faces rather than doom and gloom. We'll enjoy this victory but there's a lot of work to be done before we're back to the old Newcastle.

"It's sod's law that we have to wait another two weeks for our next league game, but it's easier going into a break on the back of a win rather than a defeat."