George Burley hailed hat-trick hero Andrew Surman after Saints' biggest Championship win of the season.

Surman fired Saints into the top four with his first goals of the season in his first game at St Mary's since suffering a knee injury on Boxing Day.

The 20-year-old netted the first with his left foot, a tenth minute equaliser, and then grabbed two more in the last ten minutes to finish off ten-man Barnsley.

Surman fired in a 20-yard half volley before grabbing the ball from top scorer Grzegorz Rasiak, a late substitute, when Saints were awarded a last-minute spot kick.

Burley said: "Andrew's a talented young player who has matured and grown in stature this season. We've played him on the right side of midfield, which is not his natural position, but he has great quality and came up with two great finishes and the penalty."

Rasiak had to be held back by captain Claus Lundekvam after being denied the chance to score his first goal in five games, but Surman laughed off the incident.

"We smiled at each other afterwards, everyone wants to score and that just happened in the heat of the moment," he said.

Kenwyne Jones also scored twice in the second half, including one from the penalty spot to take his tally for the season to 14 in all competitions.