Ange Postecoglou basked in the divine intervention of his Sunday night encounter with the suicidal saints.
The Tottenham boss could hardly have asked for more. Firstly, the spirited response from his senior players to his criticism after Thursday's draw at Rangers, and a late appearance from the bench by Timo Werner, who bore the brunt of it.
Five goals in the first half destroyed Southampton. James Maddison scored the first and fifth. Heung-min scored once and claimed two assists, while Dejan Kulusevski and Pape Matar Sarr provided one assist each.
There were also significant contributions from Lucas Bergvall, the Swedish teenager on his first Premier League start, and from Djed Spence in his first Spurs start, two and a half years after signing for £12.5m from Middlesbrough.
There was an injury for Destiny Udogie, which Postecoglou could have done without, but his evening in the Solent was a lot more comfortable than for Saints boss Russell Martin.
The home side were nothing short of terrible in the first half, from the first goal in just 38 seconds to the fifth goal, scored in stoppage time in his absence as he had already disappeared down the tunnel.
The moment summed up the mess in which Southampton seemed to find themselves. His players seemed lost, took the ball out of the net again, only to discover that their leader had given up and taken refuge in the locker room.
He had already seen enough – and probably heard enough, as his team's first-half capitulation was accompanied by loud and persistent calls from the home crowd for him to go, holding up a banner to make the point and a rendition of 'fired in the room'. the morning' at the end.
Saints are at rock bottom with just five points from their first sixteen games. Martin led them back to the top but his refusal to reconsider his approach to a pure passing style of football has turned the fans against him.
It made for a night of protest, with Spurs fans going through their collection of songs against chairman Daniel Levy, but it provided welcome relief for Postecoglou after a run of one win in eight.
Maddison's goal inside a minute relieved much of Tottenham's stress. It was a beautiful goal too, a passing move across the entire field with Bergvall collecting a pass from goalkeeper Fraser Forster, Sarr and Spence, who used the outside of his boot to give a nice pass to the goalscorer.
Maddison finished the chance confidently, driving low past Alex McCarthy to complete the move and celebrating by throwing his imaginary darts. It was a dramatic move and yet Southampton had been cut open with unfeasible ease.
Spurs fans celebrated with a fresh chorus of dissent against Levy, who watched from the director's box. This was the pre-match refrain from the away game, a clear sign of an impending crisis.
They didn't give up as their side went clear with two goals in as many minutes. Son scored the first after Maddison's cross was fired at the back post by Saints defender Jan Bednarek.
This time it was the home fans who showed their anger by singing and letting Martin know that they wanted to leave him and did not appreciate the football he has presented this season. The joy of promotion is a fading memory in these parts.
Most believe his stubborn commitment to this passing style of football amounts to surrender in the relegation battle, and it was hard to argue with that as Spurs continued to thwart them.
Kulusevski made it 3-0 and tapped in after Son's cross to Dominic Solanke looked friendly.
The match was not even fifteen minutes old, his team were three down and Martin brought on Kamaldeen Sulemana to send on another centre-back and change his formation to a back five. Sulemana was clearly upset and shocked by the humiliation.
Sarr scored the fourth midway through the first half, latching on to a pass from Son and limping past substitute Nathan Wood before finding the net with his left foot.
Tottenham lost left-back Destiny Udogie, who appeared to suffer a muscle injury as he launched the attack on Sarr's goal, which is a blow for Postecoglou, who traveled to St Mary's without nine first-team players, but it did not change the momentum.
McCarthy made a series of saves from Son before being beaten for a fifth time in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time, with Martin having already disappeared down the tunnel.
Maddison scored the ball, his second of the evening, ringing the byline to Wood and from an acute angle he delivered a neat finish past McCarthy's left shoulder.
The only chance that Southampton created in the first half came in the 40th minute and was fired wide of the near post by captain Adam Armstrong after good approaching play from Tyler Dibling and a cross from Ryan Manning.
Saints were booed and then turned on again. They did improve, had a few efforts on target and Mateus Fernandes had a goal disallowed for offside, but the damage was done and Spurs got through the second half.
Who can blame them? They are in the middle of a tough schedule, with the team creaking under the weight of the absences. On Sunday they face Manchester United, Premier League leaders Liverpool, in the Carabao Cup quarter-final.
Saints will entertain Liverpool in the cup on Wednesday and May seems a long way off.
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