Ralph Hasenhuttl pinpointed his two half time substitutions as the key to Saints’ brilliant win over Tottenham.

Saints had been totally outclassed by Spurs in the first period and were lucky to go in only one goal behind.

Hasenhuttl reacted and introduced Josh Sims and Shane Long, moves which turned the game on its head.

Saints were the better team in the second period and hit back in stunning fashion to win 2-1.

A delighted Hasenhuttl said: “I think it was the best second half since I am here.

“We made two not unimportant substitutions in the break.

“The thing was that we were only one down and that gave us the chance to change a few things and to force a little bit of nervousness and get them out of the comfort zone they had been in in the first half because they were amazing.

“Tottenham showed in the first half how you have to play against an early counter pressing situation with one touch out of the pressure and I think it was too good for us.

“Maybe we were not sharp enough and that was what I wanted to change at half time.

“With Long and Sims I brought on two strikers with more speed to create more attacking situations and to bring them a little bit on the back foot.

“We knew they would still take risks and these risks help us to win more balls and this was the reason why we got more comfortable in our game.

“Also you have to be aware of every counter situation because they have so much quality with Son and Kane on the pitch and it was always dangerous but we went all-in at half time.

“It went perfect because Sims made a perfect job.

“It was his first game (under me). We had a meeting and I told him what to do, he was not nervous or something like that. He wanted to show up and Long the same.

“We then had more pressure on them, were creating more chances and scored two fantastic goals.”

The impact of Sims was incredible given he had returned from a loan spell at Reading having struggled for game time in the Championship and had been unused by Hasenhuttl.

“Yes surprised,” admitted Hasenhuttl “Last week he trained very well and I thought I couldn’t really grab how strong he is.

“That was the reason I wanted to see him once in a Premier League game – then I can decide if he has the quality to help us or not.

“In such a game coming on at half time is not an easy job against Tottenham.

“I think he showed from the first minutes he is not nervous and has quality when he has the ball and he has a good feeling for pressing situations and that helps us and I think he made a good job.”