Rickie Lambert admitted he had to pinch himself after scoring a dream goal against his boyhood club, Liverpool.

The striker’s deflected free-kick in Saturday’s 3-1 win was yet another moment for the 31-year-old to savour in his career.

Lambert remains the top English goalscorer in the Premier League, with 13 to his name now in his first season in the top flight.

He will perhaps even have impressed national team manager Roy Hodgson, who was in the St Mary’s directors’ box at the weekend.

The lifelong Liverpool fan revealed how much it meant to score against the Reds.

“I think everyone knows the relationship I have with Liverpool,” he said.

“It was a massive game, my family were there, but obviously I’m professional.

“My main focus was to have the team try and get three points and I’m just over the moon that my goal has helped us get three points.

“Obviously, there’s been some lows, but the highs have been unbelievable and I’m confident that there’s plenty more to come in my career and for Southampton.

“It’s going really well, but we’re still not safe. There’s still points to be taken, but the lads are absolutely buzzing after that.”

A regular theme for Saints since Mauricio Pochettino replaced Nigel Adkins as manager has been playing well without taking many points.

They managed to put that right against Liverpool, though, turning in a performance that had echoes of their 3-1 win over champions Manchester City at St Mary’s last month.

The result is a huge boost in the club’s fight for Premier League survival.

“It was massively important that we got the three points,” said Lambert.

“I think we’ve been unlucky the last few weeks, I think we deserved a few more points than what we’ve got.

“You can say all day that you’re unlucky and all that, but it’s points that matter.”

Lambert said Pochettino was pleased with the display.

“As long as we perform like that for him he’s fine no matter what the result,” he said.

“It’s when we’re not following what he’s trying to say, that’s when he gets frustrated.

“But I think we’ve done well the last few games and we’ve been a little bit unlucky, but we’ve managed to get the three points for him.”

Lambert also hailed the contribution of Jay Rodriguez, who played in a central role and proved a constant menace, setting up the first goal and scoring the third.

“I think Jay’s a terrific player and I think that is his best position, striker, in the middle,” said Lambert.

“I think when we have played in that position we have played really well.

“It was obviously good to see him get that terrific goal at the end, I was absolutely over the moon for him.

“The performances have been there lately, and he’s been unlucky not to get a goal, so I was so happy that he’s managed to get on the scoresheet. It was a great goal.”