STERN John is turning out to be a great replacement for Kenwyne Jones.
George Burley hailed the striker, who has provided what he was looking for after selling John's former Trinidad & Tobago international colleague to Sunderland for £6m in August.
At Leicester on Saturday, John netted his sixth goal in the last nine league games to draw level with Grzegorz Rasiak - who again started on the bench at the weekend - with six goals at the top of the Saints strike charts.
The 31-year-old is the only Saints player to have scored from open play in the side's last six Championship games.
He was employed as the focal point of the attack at the Walkers Stadium in a 4-5-1 system that quickly became 4-3-3 when Saints attacked with Bradley Wright-Phillips and Nathan Dyer supporting down the flanks.
Burley enthused: "Stern's done terrific.
"When we lost Kenwyne Jones it was a big body blow and we needed somebody to replace him.
"Stern gives us that quality to hold the ball up and gives us goals.
"I don't think Bradley Wright-Phillips or Nathan Dyer are defensive midfield players.
"We were playing with three up front and we showed we can play that way.
"We're a good passing team and in midfield we try and pass it and looked good."