The Welshman left St Mary's Stadium for White Hart Lane in the summer of 2007 and returned to the south coast to pile on more pain for the relegation-threatened Saints, who failed to find an equaliser despite Jay Rodriguez's reply to Clint Dempsey's second.

"I was emotional scoring but the main thing was coming here and doing a job," Bale told reporters after the match.

"I'd been here since I was nine years old and it was nice to score but my celebrations were muted out of respect.

Bale went on to add that he was delighted to see his former side back to the Premier League, having left them in financial turmoil while in the Championship.

"It was amazing to see them back in the Premier League, I was chuffed to bits," the winger enthused.

"I've waited five-and-a-half years to come back and it was nice to see a few friends."

Following the victory, Andre Villas-Boas' men moved up to fourth in the league table above north London rivals Arsenal.