Slaven Bilic has admitted that he is thankful to new signing Jose Fonte for giving West Ham United the upper hand in their meeting with his former club Southampton.
The Portugal international got his wish at the end of January as he was allowed to leave St Mary's Stadium after growing disillusioned at the club.
Bilic was keen to pick the brains of Fonte, who came up against the Saints in just his second game as a United player following the completion of an £8m deal a fortnight ago.
"It is good to find out some inside things and he helped us with that," he told reporters. "It was very special for him and to come here and play so good, it makes it a little bit more special for him than the other guys."
Fonte added: "I always gave my best for Southampton, my sweat and blood, so my conscience is clear. It was almost eight seasons so it was tough but with the help of my teammates and [the] West Ham supporters the most important thing was achieving what we got - the three points."
West Ham recovered from a goal down to pick up a first away win at Southampton since 2000, courtesy of goals from Andy Carroll, Pedro Obiang and Mark Noble.
Daniel Lewis
