James Maddison savoured a memorable win for Tottenham with a stunning 5-0 rout of Southampton and wants his Spurs team-mates to use it as a catalyst to put together a run of consistent form.
Despite the absence of nine first-team regulars on their visit to St Mary's, Spurs dazzled with an electrifying display, netting three times within the first 14 minutes, and slotting in a further two before half-time.
Maddison was instrumental from the get-go, scoring after just 36 seconds before doubling his contribution, elevating his season's goal count to seven. This victory marks a return to form for the north Londoners – their first since mesmerising Manchester City with a 4-0 win on November 23, where Maddison similarly notched two goals.
However, following a dry spell that did little to impress, speculation began brewing around head coach Ange Postecoglou's future after a sequence of just one win in eight outings.
The triumph over Southampton comes as a welcome morale boost ahead of Thursday's pivotal Carabao Cup quarter-final clash at home against Manchester United, followed by a heavyweight face-off with Premier League frontrunners Liverpool on Sunday.
"It was a big night for us," Maddison proclaimed to BBC’s Match of the Day. "We had a poor loss away at Bournemouth and ended up losing at home to Chelsea, a draw with Rangers and you know what it’s like when you are a big team like Tottenham, you get fingers pointed at you and a lot of outside noise, external noise."
"So, make no mistake about that, that was a big night for us to go and win and we’ve struggled against the lesser teams a little bit.
"It was important and I'm really proud of the lads to come here and put in that performance to get three points. Hopefully it kickstarts a little bit of momentum."
The night wasn't without its concerns as Destiny Udogie had to be substituted early due to an injury scare. Ange Postecoglou remains optimistic, though.
He said: "He felt a bit tight in his quad. To be fair, he wanted to continue but we can’t take any risks at the moment, so we took him off (along) with Sonny. I don’t think it’s anything significant at this stage and more precautionary."