The boss insists the star man was left out of the Carabao Cup clash at Carrow Road, alongside club captain Jack Stephens, for fitness reasons.
Despite both travelling for the first round earlier this month, Still opted to rest the pair ahead of Saturday’s key Championship meeting with Watford.
Cameron Archer, Ryan Fraser and Kuryu Matsuki provided the goals as Saints recovered from a nervy start to book their place in the third round.
After the match, Still was asked about Fernandes being left out and said: “No, it’s nothing to do with transfers or anything like that.
Mateus Fernandes has been linked to interest from West Ham and Atletico Madrid this summer (Image: Southampton FC/Matt Watson)
“We left Stevo and Matty at home just for recovery, for loads and all that, but that’s it. Adam Armstrong’s back is still tensed up and can’t quite move.
“Welington’s out for probably a fair chunk of time, but yeah, all others were here. I’m really happy with the result but we started off a bit slowly.
“We were getting into old habits of playing sideways and backwards and attracting pressure, but we started playing forward and getting in behind.
“We got a really good first goal, which Cam finished off really well, and after that I felt that we were more relaxed and in control of what we were doing.
“The second goal was really good, second ball, we attract, played in behind, put them under pressure, and then Wee Man finished it off really well.
“I think Matsuki’s worldie is just a nice way to finish things off. I think it’s a question of building confidence up in the areas we actually want to play in.
“We don’t want to play short and attract pressure and play it back into pressure. I think that’s everything we want to avoid,” Still continued.
“Once we started stretching it, our passing was a bit bigger and we started switching and stretching their block, then you just make it easier for yourself.
“I’m pleased with how we eventually grew into the game. But we know it’s a work in progress and it’s still early days, so I’m sure we can build on that.”