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. Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl will state 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 his players individually. 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 Premier League Premier League Championship League One League Two Scottish Premiership Scottish Div 1 Scottish Div 2 Scottish Div 3 Ligue 1 Serie A La Liga Bundesliga 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. For Southampton, this was a crucial result and quite possibly their most complete performance of the campaign. 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 sides and this upwardly mobile side are now within one victory of 13th place in the table. It has been a remarkable effort by Hasenhuttl. The Austrian has restored purpose and spirit to a club that appeared to have all sense of direction before his arrival. He has reconnected his players with supporters. 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 over five minutes after full-time, holding hands and sprinting towards supporters behind the goal to celebrate. Hasenhuttl took his own personal bow to much acclaim. 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 in the second period, Hasenhuttl intervened once more, introducing Oriol Romeu to stem the flow and 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 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 will have 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 from his vantage point, the manager witnessed one of his team's most peculiar and slipshod performances of the season. The mood of the travelling supporters darkened inside only two minutes. Sims scurried free down the right flank, crossed low and Nathan Redmond dashed to the front of the six yard box and prodded into the top corner. Southampton played at a frenetic pace and Sims, in particular, set the tone. The 22-year-old let himself down with his end product at times but for half-an-hour, the forward's bite and movement bewitched his opponents. He snapped into tackles, chased every loose ball and almost single-handedly raised the decibel inside the stadium. 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 wide from distance and Leander Dendocker, who fatally conceded a penalty at Wembley, met a set-piece powerfully but directed his header narrowly wide. Raul Jimenez then wriggled free of three defender and shot low into the hands of Angus Gunn. The equaliser did arrive in the 28th minute. Boly soared majestically at a corner 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. 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) Such optimism was short-lived. Having toiled so diligently to recover parity, Wolves imploded at the back once more. Sims won the ball high in opposition territory, Danny Ings played the slide-rule pass and Redmond darted in behind, played onside by Connor Coady, and clipped beyond Patricio. In the Wolves defence, Hasenhuttl identified an uncertainty when forwards break beyond. Another Ings pass released Sims, who sprinted clear but sidefooted wide when clean through. Wolves were by now ragged, underlined when Joao Moutinho slashed Redmond's ankles away to receive a booking as Southampton broke away once more. Jimenez soon followed his team-mate into the book for a similar bout of frustration. The interval provided respite and Wolves actually started the second period rather well. Jimenez should have done better when a ball dropped kindly in the penalty area. Yet Southampton threatened on the counter and Wolves conceded too many set pieces. James Ward-Prowse's delivery from a corner caused all manner of confusion and 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. 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 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 All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility