Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino was overjoyed after his side halted a six-game winless run on Boxing Day.
The Saints had lost four and drawn two of their previous six Premier League outings before beating Cardiff City 3-0 in south Wales thanks to a brace from Jay Rodriguez and a goal from Rickie Lambert.
After the match, Pochettino said he was delighted with the performance of his side who remained ninth on the table with their seventh victory of the campaign.
"I thought we were amazing for the first 25 minutes," he told Sky Sports.
"And, overall, we were excellent. We played really well and it's important to end our recent disappointing run.
"I don't like to single out any player in particular because the whole team played excellent. Hopefully now that will provide us with some confidence.
"It was also vital that we managed to keep a clean sheet because that is not something we have done for a while."
