MIDFIELDER Finn Azaz never lost faith that he would score his first Saints goal and insisted Saturday's 3-1 win can be important for several summer signings.
Azaz arrived at Saints with a reputation for scoring goals in the Championship, having hit double figures in both of his two previous seasons playing in the division.
But it took the Republic of Ireland international 11 games to score his first at Saints, and his difficult spell in front of goal did not come without missed opportunities.
Yet £12million signing Azaz did not lose confidence, and found the net for the first time with a tight-angle finish in Saturday's victory over Wednesday.
"It's been coming. The most important thing is just to get the chances," the former Middlesbrough man said after Southampton's fourth win of the season.
"If you're not getting the chances, then that's when you're worried. But obviously, I'm really happy to get the goal. I've just kept working, and I've had spells where I've not scored before.
"And I just know what it's like. So I had faith that if you keep doing the right things, then there would be no problem."
Azaz was not the only player to open their Saints account on the weekend, as fellow summer arrival Caspar Jander scored the first of the afternoon inside 10 minutes.
The German midfielder's sliding effort was flapped over the line by Ethan Horvath in the Wednesday net and got Saints started after a period of early pressure.
"It's been difficult because it hasn't really been gelling as a team, and regardless of being new signings or not, it's not been easy for anyone," Azaz continued.
"I feel like for some people it does take time. I didn't feel like it was that we weren't ready [as new signings] or we weren't performing at the level.
"It was more that we were just finding the right way for everyone, including the new signings. But today was a good day for everyone, really. Tom [Fellows] and Caspar as well. We'll enjoy it."
Interim Eckert has taken maximum points from his two games in charge of Saints, and became the first boss to win back-to-back league games at Saints since Russell Martin.
While Wednesday had chances towards the end, the visitors did not threaten to cut Southampton's lead in half after Adam Armstrong's goal two minutes after the restart.
"I'm buzzing and relieved. I'm really proud of how we've been the last week. It was a tough situation," Azaz concluded, reflecting on two wins in quick succession.
"We've shown what we're made of in two different performances, but equally as impressive to get two wins. I would say it was our most mature performance.
"And even then, we still have things that we can improve on. So it's good and it gives us a lot of confidence, but also that should be 5-1 or 5-0. We should definitely score more."
