Southampton 3-1 Wolves: Nathan Redmond grabs a brace as Saints take step closer to safety with convincing victory over Nuno Espirito Santo's men

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From the home supporters on the terraces, the chant came loud and proud. 'We are staying up,' they cheerily sang and after this latest victory, the job is very nearly done.

Afterwards, manager Ralph Hasenhuttl stated all the usual platitudes about mathematical permutations and counting chickens but his response on full-time gave the game away. His fist pumped the air three times and he jogged onto the pitch to embrace all of his players.

For Southampton, this was a crucial result and arguably their most complete performance of the campaign. Not that Hasenhuttl was satisfied. 

Shane Long makes a yard for himself after a well-taken pass inside the box and strikes the ball into the bottom left corner

The Southampton striker celebrates adding a third for his side and taking a step closer to safety after defeating Wolves

Long (right) celebrated with the home supporters at St Mary's as he put some daylight between the two sides on Saturday

MATCH FACTS, LIVE LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE 

Southampton (3-4-2-1): Gunn 6; Bednarek 6, Yoshida 7, Vestergaard 6; Valery 6.5 (Stephens 84), Hojbjerg 6, Ward-Prowse 6.5, Bertrand 7; Sims 8 (Romeu 61, 7), Redmond 8; Ings 7.5 (Long 61, 7)

Subs not used: McCarthy, Stephens, Targett, Armstrong, Austin

Manager: Ralph Hasenhuttl

Booked: Bertrand

Goal: Redmond (2, 30), Long 71

Wolves (3-4-2-1): Patricio 6.5; Saiss 5, Coady 5, Boly 6; Doherty 5.5 (Traore 60), Dendoncker 5, Moutinho 5.5, Neves 6 (Gibbs-White 69 6), Jonny 6; Jota 5 (Costa 87), Jimenez 6

Subs not used: Ruddy, Bennett, Vinagre, Cavaleiro

Manager: Nuno Espirito Santo 5.5

Booked: Moutinho, Jimenez, Saiss

Goal: Boly 28

Referee: Jonathan Moss 6

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Nathan Redmond  collected a pass and from inside the box he lifted the ball over goalkeeper Rui Patricio. CLICK HERE to see more from Sportsmail's MATCH ZONE. 

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'I was very critical at the break,' the Austrian said. 'They needed a little bit waking up.'

Still, this victory elevated Southampton to 36 points, eight clear of the drop zone, and Hasenhuttl can surely now plan for a first full season in the Premier League. Southampton's final five fixtures do not pit Hasenhuttl's team against any of the Premier League's top six team and his upwardly mobile side are now within one victory of 13th place.

It has been a remarkable effort by Hasenhuttl. The coach has restored purpose and spirit to a club that appeared to have lost all sense of direction before his arrival. Form in this stadium was a source of dread for Mauricio Pellegrino and Mark Hughes but Hasenhuttl has revived the fanbase and the dressing room. His players stayed behind for some ten minutes after full-time, holding hands and sprinting towards supporters behind the goal to celebrate. Hasenhuttl took his own personal bow.

His tactical acumen is sharp, too, setting Southampton up perfectly to expose Wolves’ three-man backline, as the outstanding pair of Jose Sims and Nathan Redmond pressed the visitors into first-half errors and made darting sprints in behind. When Sims ran out of gas on the hour, Hasenhuttl intervened once more, introducing Oriol Romeu to reassert control of midfield.

Nathan Redmond (Southampton) collects a pass and from inside the box he lifted the ball over goalkeeper Rui Patricio

The Southampton winger celebrates putting Saints 2-1 up in front of the home crowd at St Mary's on Saturday afternoon

Redmond (left) celebrates his second of the game and putting his side back in front with his Southampton team-mates

'We still speak about 40 points. I don't celebrate staying up until then,' the manager said. 'But it was very good. This connection with the fans is what I work for from the first day. It's the most beautiful moment of the weekend.'

On paper, this had the potential to be a dicey fixture for Southampton. Wolves endured heartache at Wembley last weekend, surrendering a two-goal advantage to lose an FA Cup semi-final against Watford. The atmosphere at Wolves' training complex this week is said to have resembled a morgue and manager Nuno Espirito Santo expected a backlash from his players on the South Coast. From the first whistle, Nuno stood at the front of his technical area, arms folded, eyes fixed. He barely moved from his chosen spot for ninety minutes but the manager witnessed one of his team's most peculiar and slipshod performances of the season.

'Today Southampton was better than us in almost every situation,' Nuno said. 'It was bad game, a bad performance.'

The manager's mood darkened inside only two minutes. Sims scurried down the right flank, crossed low and Nathan Redmond prodded into the top corner. Southampton played at a frenetic pace and Sims, in particular, set the tone. The 22-year-old bite and movement bewitched his opponents. He snapped into tackles, chased every loose ball and almost single-handedly raised the decibel inside the stadium.

The corner from Joao Moutinho goes into a dangerous area and finds Willy Boly who is waiting on the edge of the six-yard box

The Wolverhampton defender outjumps the defence and glances a header into the back of the net to equalise for the visitors

Boly celebrates putting his side on level terms with his team-mates Leander Dendoncker (left) and Ruben Neves (right)

Sims dispossessed Willy Boly and Redmond's whipped strike needed a good save by Rui Patricio. Slowly but surely, Wolves roused themselves. Ruben Neves had a volley deflected over and Leander Dendocker, who fatally conceded a penalty at Wembley, directed a header wide. The equaliser did arrive in the 28th minute, Boly soared majestically and a planted header into the top corner. In the dugout, Nuno and his staff embraced as one and it appeared his side had turned a corner.

Such optimism was short-lived. Having toiled to recover parity, Wolves imploded once more. Sims won the ball high, Danny Ings played the slide-rule pass and Redmond darted in behind and clipped beyond Patricio.

It was Redmond's eighth goal since Hasenhuttl took the reins. The manager said: 'We have showed him he can be the guy who makes the difference. He was very clinical. We have a special relationship.' 

Nathan Redmond (Southampton) fired home from very close range after latching on to a pass from Joshua Sims

The Southampton winger (centre) celebrated taking the lead with Sims (right) and Saints striker Danny Ings (left) 

Redmond (left) was mobbed by Southampton defender Nathan Redmond (centre) and midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (right)

Wolves winger Diogo Jota (left) tried to knock the ball past Southampton defender Jan Bednarek (right) on Saturday

Saints winger Redmond tried to win the ball away from Wolves striker Raul Jimenez during the first half of the match

Southampton winger Josh Sims tried to dribble away from a challenge made by Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves on Saturday

Southampton striker Danny Ings (left) was back in the side after missing the game against his parent club Liverpool last week

Wolverhampton centre-back Willy Boly attempted to take the ball under control during the Premier League clash at St Mary's

In the Wolves defence, Hasenhuttl identified an uncertainty when forwards break beyond. Another Ings pass released Sims, who sprinted clear but sidefooted wide. Wolves were by now ragged, underlined when Joao Moutinho slashed Redmond's ankles and received a booking.

Wolves actually started the second period rather well. Jimenez should have done better when a ball dropped kindly in the penalty area. Yet Southampton reimposed themselves and James Ward-Prowse's delivery from a corner caused all manner of confusion. 

Maya Yoshida prodded the ball into the path of Shane Long, who tucked away the third within ten minutes of arriving as a substitute. Yoshida was then denied a goal of his own by a superb close-range save from Patricio but by then, the result and Southampton's survival was no longer in doubt. 

Saints centre-back Maya Yoshida (right) tried to hold off Wolverhampton striker Raul Jimenez near the touchline

Southampton left-back Ryan Bertrand (left) fights for the ball with Wolves defender Matt Doherty (centre) at St Mary's

Southampton defender Jannik Vestergaard attempted a challenge on Wolves midfielder Leander Dendoncker on Saturday