“It’s huge. We’ve been criticised this season for not grafting but tonight we fought for every ball. It wasn’t pretty but it feels good.

“If I was watching on the television I would’ve turned it off. We graft week in week out but it’s a waste if we don’t perform at the weekend. I’m delighted for players like Phil [Coutinho] who have proved people wrong with good performances tonight.

“We have not been on great form. We are not clicking and creating enough chances but tonight, when we got the goal, we stayed strong. We limited Saints to very few chances and it’s a huge win going into the international break.

“I was dreading going up to Scotland with a draw or a defeat so it will make the drive up a bit sweeter.”

John McGinn.

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“It’s a big victory. It wasn’t pretty or stylish but, with where we were in the league, we knew we had to do it in a pragmatic way.

“I’m really proud of the boys’ effort, application and commitment.

“We played better that we did last time. In football, you have to grind and fight and be committed and we worked hard today.

“We will get better in terms of style and possession and that will come but tonight was about the points.

“We had to back up our performance against Manchester City and there were a lot of eyes on us from the TV but we did it.

“It’s how you build consistency by defending your box well. I’ve been critical about this group and the detailing of defending at times but today there were a lot of bodies on the line.

“Maybe we tried to force it a bit tonight but as we move up the table maybe that’s when the pretty stuff will come. It has been a tough period but I’ve wanted to step forward and protect my players.

“I’ve tried to fight and move up this table. We have accepted a lot of criticism and it’s about reacting and that is what we have done tonight.”

Steven Gerrard.

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“He messaged in the week, to the club, and that shows everything about what he thinks of this club.

“For us to reward that [Prince William’s message] with a result and clean sheet, I’m sure he will be proud.

“It was along the lines of I’d love to be there but, obviously, everyone understands his personal situation. He’s been consistently in touch. He’s very supportive of the boys individually. I’ve spoken to him about them all.

“It’s really impressive, his knowledge, and how much he’s into it. It certainly took me aback and surprised me. He’s very much involved with Villa and for him to message in the situation he’s in is really impressive.”

Steven Gerrard.

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“Look, it feels nice. You can win football matches in different ways.

“We’ve lost football matches since I’ve been here and that feels really terrible so to win in the way we did today… It wasn’t stylish or pretty, it was full of guts and fight and, again, it was a really strong performance out of possession.

“I’ve maybe been guilty of wanting to move it forward too quickly.

“Maybe it’s a slower process, especially where we are, and maybe it’s going to take a little bit more time.

“We got a lot of success early on by being pragmatic and solid, blocking the middle of the pitch, and having everyone who was all-in.

“I lean on my staff every single day, around the clock. We’re all in this together. The change of coach wasn’t ideal, it never is. You lose a coach that you’ve worked so long for and you’re comfortable around. Then we get another top coach who wants to move forward quickly.

“He wants to take the team where everyone sees it and I’m the same, I’m very ambitious and want to move it forward very quick but, sometimes, you’ve got to stop, think and analyse and, sometimes, it takes maybe a step back or a bit more patience to get where you want to get to.

“If it means we have to do that we’ll do it because, where we’ve been in the league, we don’t want to be.”

Steven Gerrard.

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“I put that noise on Tyrone.

“The reason I did that and, when I inherited the boys when I did, there was a lot of noise around Tyrone Mings and I felt it was affecting his performances and his consistency.

“The idea was to take that away from him so he can focus on him more and not worry about other players in the team and other roles within the team… ‘Just solely focus on you, Tyrone, and bring your attributes to the table consistently,’ because he’s got them without a doubt.

“He can get better and better but Tyrone needs to focus on Tyrone and that will help him, in my opinion.”

Steven Gerrard.

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“He looked sharp, inventive. I really enjoyed his performance.”

Steven Gerrard on Philippe Coutinho.

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“The players have been under pressure - alongside myself - and I want to let them breathe for a few days, to have some family time. We’ll come in and work hard in the middle of the break and we’ll try and organise a game behind closed doors. Then we’ll put all we can into the next game which is Leeds away. We should go there with more confidence now.”

Steven Gerrard.