JOSE Fonte couldn’t help but feel that Saints would have gone on to thrash Newcastle 5-0 or 6-0 if they hadn't taken their foot off the gas in the 3-1 St Mary’s win.

Shane Long, Graziano Pelle and Victor Wanyama had given Ronald Koeman’s side a 3-0 lead soon into the second half, but Saints’ intensity dropped and Andros Townsend was able to pull one back for the relegation candidates.

Once Long, who scored his 11th goal in all competitions inside five minutes to put the first nail in the Magpies’ coffin, was substituted on the hour mark for James Ward-Prowse, the captain felt that Saints dropped off their level.

“It was good to get back to winning ways,” Fonte said. “It was a good first half performance and a good three points.

“In the first half it was good, not so much in the second,” he added.

“Since Shane Long came off, you could see it wasn’t really the same.

“He’s very good for us working without the ball, he makes good runs and he’s a very important player for us at the moment.

“When he came off we went a little bit down. This was a game we could have easily scored another two or three in.”

Fonte felt that Saints – even when Townsend curled in Rafael Benitez’s side's consolation on 66 minutes – that they were never uncomfortable against a Magpies side bereft of all confidence and grit as they edged closer to dropping into the Championship.

“I think we were comfortable,” said the Portuguese defender. “We were good, concentrated and focused apart from the great goal from Townsend, which perhaps we could have prevented and sent him down the line.

“But, still, it’s a good goal from him. Sometimes you have to give credit to them. Nevertheless, a good win.”

He added: “It’s always disappointing not to get a clean sheet, but still it’s a good goal from them.”

Fonte, 32, although not overly impressed by Saints’ second half performance, couldn’t help but smile as Jay Rodriguez entered the fray late on for the first time since October following a foot injury.

The skipper is now hoping that Rodriguez will help fire Saints into European football for a second successive season.

“Of course, we all want to see Jay back to his best and hopefully now he will kick on and show everyone again what a great player he is,” he said.

Saints set-up with a very attacking outlook and pressed Newcastle’s frail defence into submission.

Once Long had broken the deadlock, after just four minutes, Fonte could sense the visitors’ unease.

“I think as soon as the first goal went in you could see the nervousness and the confidence go a little bit,” he said.

“They need to get points. To get points they need to score goals, but when you away from home it can be dangerous and we exploited that.

“A good win, a good three points and we move on to the next.”

Fonte has told Benitez’s side to keep battling.

“It’s a tough situation to be in but they need to keep going and fighting,” he said.