Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg says the "belief" of his players was vital to ending their festive Championship wobble.
Boro had gone four games without a win or a goal before they hit four in 22 second half minutes to sweep aside Southampton.
The result saw them climb back above Ipswich Town into second and for Hellberg, it was vindication of plugging away.
The Teessiders had managed 80 shots and averaged almost 66% possession in accruing a single point from those four previous games before their luck turned against the sorry Saints.