Jose Fonte admits there was some panic inside the Southampton dressing room over Mauricio Pochettino's exit to Tottenham.
Fonte has also revealed he had to convince his teammates Saints would not fall apart in the wake of Pochettino's exit and sale of £97m worth of talent.
Portuguese ace Fonte said: "I had to talk with a lot of players, I tried to assure them and make them believe that we still have the qualities and capability to do well.
"I'm pleased we've been showing that we can compete and be at the top."
