He had no doubts about moving from Celtic to Saints in the summer, and Fraser Forster certainly hasn’t found any reason to regret his decision since.

The 26-year-old made the switch from the Scottish champions to St Mary’s in a £10m transfer, arriving on the south coast as the club’s new number one.

Forster, an imposing presence at 6ft 7in, felt it had been the right moment to make the leap.

“Celtic was fantastic for me,” he said. “It’s a massive club and it was just the right time.

“I felt I’d kind of done everything I could there and I was just ready for a new challenge, and the opportunity to come to a club like this – that really wants to progress and do well in the Premier League – is something I couldn’t turn down.

“When you speak to the manager and the chairman and everyone associated with the club and the real positive beliefs and you see how ambitious they are, it immediately makes you think you want to come here, and I’m delighted that I have.”

In fact, Forster – who has the best defensive record in English football, having only shipped five goals in his opening eight league games – admits the set-up at Saints has been even better than he imagined.

“It’s probably passed what I expected to be honest,” he said.“The changing room is one of the best I’ve been in.

“We’ve got a great group of lads and a real togetherness.“Everyone’s really kind of listened to the way the manager wants to play, and we’ve all tried to implement that in matches.

“We’ve done that and picked up results because of it.”

One of the other big influences in Forster’s decision to move south was the presence of goalkeeping coach Dave Watson, who fulfils the same job with England.

“He’s a top keeper coach,” said Forster, whose own keeping career began at the age of 12 when his Sunday League team lost their goalie and decided to put him in between the sticks.

“Obviously, I had the chance to work with him all summer at the World Cup, and I believed he could really bring me on as a keeper and keep me improving.

“I’m not going to lie, it was a big factor, the opportunity to work with him day in and day out, and it’s one I’m very grateful for.”

Indeed, Forster – who has kept four clean sheets in his eight league games so far – hopes his move to Saints can boost his career with England, where he is currently the back-up to Joe Hart.

“Long-term it can only help,” said the twice-capped keeper. “Obviously, you’re playing in such a competitive league and you’re getting tested week-in and week-out, and it’s just important you try and play as well as you can for Southampton and see where it kind of takes you.

“You’ve got to be playing well here before you can even consider England. It’s just a case of trying to do that, trying to keep working hard and improving, and hopefully one day I can be knocking on the door.”

As well as Watson, Forster has also taken great pleasure in working with experienced Saints keeper and club captain Kelvin Davis.

“He’s made it so easy for me to be honest,” he said.“He’s a top guy and a top person to get to train with every day. He’s always there for you, whatever you need.”

A week on from the record-setting 8-0 win over Sunderland, Forster and his Saints teammates now have their sights set on a home win against Stoke. Despite the euphoria of last Saturday, the keeper said the players had no problem keeping their feet on the ground.

“I think for us, we kind of forgot about it quite quickly,” he said.“We talked about it quite a bit on Sunday, when we were in after the game, but by Monday, Tuesday it was completely forgotten and everyone kind of switched their minds onto what we need to do for this game coming.

“They’ve got some really good players and a really good manager, so it’s important we go into it fully focused and try to stamp our authority on the game.

“We know how tough it will be, and we’ve got to go out and show them the respect that they deserve, and we understand that we’ll have to battle hard to win the ball and then keep the ball.

“If we can dominate possession and keep the ball moving like we want to then we’ll make it tough for them, but we’ve got to be fully switched on and 100 per cent.”