Jose Fonte hailed a fantastic performance from the Irons as he returned to his old stomping ground of the St Mary’s Stadium.
And speaking to whufc.com after the game he commented: “It was a strange experience coming back to Southampton
“It was emotional, difficult, but in the end I can say a big thank you to everyone – to the West Ham supporters and my teammates for helping me get through this.
“I managed to block everything [out] and stay focused on the game. The most important thing was achieved, which is the three points and a great performance.”
Fonte continued: “It’s never easy [after a result like Wednesday’s against Manchester City]. It wasn’t the start I wanted, we weren’t at the races, but we showed great character and personality to come and play.
“We played some great football, scored three goals and could have scored a couple more. It was a fantastic performance from everyone today and we move on to the next one.
“The key was to keep trying to play, because we have great footballers in this team. If we play how we can and how we normally do in training, we are going to win many games.
“We stuck to our principles, kept calm, scored the goal and took momentum from there.
“It takes time to slot in and develop a partnership, but Winston Reid is an excellent defender. He has been in the Premier League for many years and has great experience.
“For myself, I’ve felt so welcome and everyone is trying to help me settle in. My teammates have been fantastic and I appreciate [that] from every single one of them.”
