Ronald Koeman has conceded that if Sadio Mane continues the kind of form he showed against Chelsea that Saints may eventually lose to him to a bigger team, but insisted the club should enjoy him while they can.

Mane has been on fire for Saints in recent weeks, scoring four times in the last three games.

One of those came on Saturday in the 3-1 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, where the Blues struggled to handle his raw pace and power.

Mane was linked with Manchester United in the transfer window but remains very much a Saints player.

Koerman admitted: “Ok, maybe one day we will lose Mane but then we have to be prepared.

“You know in our situation that kind of players if they play like today there will come a lot of interest in the end of the season, but now we enjoy watching Mane in our team.”

Mane terrorised the fragile Chelsea defence and Koeman reflected: “He is very fast and he is showing also now to be very clever out of his positions.

“I think he changed well the position in front and it was difficult for them to have a good defending.

“Of course then if you play good football you need that kind of players on the top level they can bring. He was fantastic.”

Saints made a tactical change with Mane at half time at the Bridge, pushing him further forward to great effect.

It was his blistering pace on the counter attack that presented Graziano Pelle with the chance to score the third goal which sealed the three points.

“We spoke at half time and we said, ok, important now is we try to attack and try to win the game and no defending the 1-1,” said Koeman.

“I think we showed from the beginning in the second half we pressed, the team was very compact and it was difficult for them.

“Good football, great movements and good goals, and maybe we had to score one or two more in that first 30 minutes in the second half.”

As good as Mane was, it was a fantastic team effort from Saints, which Koeman was keen to recognise.

“He played fantastic, but I think the whole team performance was impressive,” admitted Koeman.

“After the fast 1-0 down we looked comfortable, and of course to win against teams like Chelsea you need your best players on that high level and Sadio was very dangerous in his movements.

“It was impossible to have a good defending against him.

“I think the whole team performance was perfect.”