ng".Villa went into the game on the back of four successive Barclays Premier League defeats and at the end of a week that saw Lambert's assistants Ian Culverhouse and Gary Karsa suspended by the club.
No explanation for the suspension has yet been given, with youth coach Gordon Cowans and out-of-favour goalkeeper Shay Given stepping up to help Lambert
The contest against Saints, who had lost three of their previous four games, was not pretty but the 0-0 draw moved Villa five points clear of the relegation zone
Lambert said: " It was a really tough game
Sometimes in football matches you get big points and you get huge points - that was a huge point for us considering what's been going on
It's been a hard week
"I thought second half we were excellent, we gave as good as we got against a really good side
"I didn't think there was much in it
They started better than us and 15 minutes into the game we started to get a foothold
In the second half I thought (Marc) Albrighton and (Gabriel) Agbonlahor were excellent for us
"When you look at the way the lads played and the determination there, they stepped up to the plate when questions were asked
I said to them that I'm proud of them for what they did today
"We had to stop the bleeding and get something."
Lambert praised the impact made by Cowans and Given, whose last game for Villa came in January 2013
"The two lads have been great," said Lambert
"Gordon, who I know really well, his status at the football club is huge
"Shay, contrary to what people think because I never played him, I've never had one cross word with him
I respect him as a goalkeeper and as a guy, and he and Gordon accepted within seconds
I'm really appreciative of the help."
Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino felt his side deserved more from the game and was particularly unhappy they were not awarded a late penalty
Nathaniel Clyne's cross clearly hit the hand of Ryan Bertrand in the box but referee Lee Mason decided it was accidental and waved away the vociferous appeals
Pochettino said: "I think we deserved to win
We did everything right except actually score
"I'm very happy with the team's performance but I'm a little bit sad because we had many chances, and I think we were a little wasteful as well with the chances we created
"It was a clear penalty
And the linesman was quite close
It's unexplainable to me why that penalty was not given.
"We feel hard done by because in the last few games we had decisions that haven't gone our way and probably, if those decisions had gone our way as they should have, then we would have more points right now
The players did not deserve those calls."
Speaking about the incident, Lambert said: " I've haven't seen it yet
But if ever a team deserved a little bit of luck, it would be ourselves."
Pochettino, meanwhile, welcomed the PFA award nominations for Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw
Lallana was named alongside Luis Suarez, Steven Gerrard, Daniel Sturridge, Eden Hazard and Yaya Toure on the shortlist for player of the year while Shaw has been nominated for the young player award
Pochettino said: "It's something that's great for the club and for the team and it's only going to improve the two players' performances."
Source : PA
Source: PA