Wolves boss Vitor Pereira was full of praise for the “fantastic” Jorgen Strand Larsen as his double saw off Southampton 2-1 and moved the club nine points clear of the relegation zone.

Strand Larsen, who was without a goal since December, got his first in the 19th minute with a fine header after a pinpoint cross from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.

He then scored his and Wolves’ second just two minutes into the second half after collecting a pass from Bellegarde, shifting the ball onto his right and firing a shot into the far corner.

Southampton pulled a goal back through Paul Onuachu but Wolves held on for a vital victory, with Pereira full of praise for the Norwegian forward, who now has nine league goals to his name this campaign.

He said to Sky Sports: “Strand Larsen was fantastic, not only with his two goals but with the way he helped the team.

"Today he felt more confident. I think he was fantastic, and he deserves it.”

Despite Wolves going nine points clear of the drop zone following Ipswich Town’s defeat at home to Nottingham Forest, picking up two successive away wins for the first time since February 2024, Pereira is adamant there is still a lot more work to do in terms of staving off relegation.

“In this league, we cannot feel safe,” he told BBC Sport.

“The first mistake is to lose points. Now we have the [international] break and it's important to rest a bit, but the next match is very important for us.

"We must control our games because we cannot control the opponents' games.”

Southampton actually generated a higher xG of 1.08 to their opponents' 0.44, but were once again made to pay for defensive errors at the back.

Head coach Ivan Juric was left frustrated as his side succumbed to a ninth consecutive top flight defeat on home soil, becoming just the fourth team to do so, despite a bright start and some threatening moments in the second half.

He told BBC Sport: “I think we did really well in the first 20 minutes. The first time Wolves got too close to our area, we conceded.

“Today was another game that suggests we are not ready to take points. [The second goal] was an easy situation to read. There’s always something missing.

With the club 17 points adrift of safety with just nine games to go, Juric is resigned to the inevitable but hopes Southampton can give everything for the final stretch of a miserable campaign.

“The will to play well and to attack is there,” said Juric. “The lads want to win the game and do their best.

“We will go down, but [we want to go down] with more fight, more dignity and more everything.”