What irked Steven Gerrard about Aston Villa as Danny Ings nails response to Southampton boos

Aston Villa have forgotten all about their poor start to the calendar year after they followed up a 2-0 win at Brighton by thrashing an in-form Southampton side at Villa Park.

The 4-0 win ended a three-month wait for victory on home soil as Steven Gerrard's men also claimed back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since November.

Four goals, evenly split either side of half time rewarded Gerrard for executing the perfect game plan against Ralph Hasenhuttl's Saints who had only tasted defeat once in the 10 league games prior to their trip up the M40 on Saturday afternoon.

Villa are now separated by just goal difference from the top half of the division, with three games in 13 days to come.

Here, reporter John Townley picks out some of the big talking points from Villa 4 Southampton 0 as we now look ahead to Leeds in four days' time. Have your say on Villa's latest win in the comments section.

The magic of Coutinho has dispelled the myth that Ings and Watkins can't combine in Aston Villa shirts. On the evidence of the 4-0 win over Southampton, they most certainly can. How and why it has taken so long for the £55million duo to hit it off remains a bit of a mystery, but there's no doubt Coutinho can be crucial to their individual and collective success.

The Barcelona loanee is starting to translate flashes of brilliance into outstanding performances and that's good news for 'Watkings', as the duo continue to develop a relationship on the pitch.

After the game, Villa boss Gerrard said: "I thought Danny and Ollie were unplayable together, their relationship together is building nicely.

"I know there was doubts on the outside, but for me, it’s always been a case of giving it a chance, trying to get as many