The new contract comes as a reward for a player who quickly established himself as a fans' favourite at St. Mary's since arriving at the club in the summer of 2009 from Bristol Rovers.
The talismanic number 7 became the fifth fastest post-war Saint to reach 50 goals in all competitions last year, whilst he also took his league tally of goals past the half century mark after notching 21 times in 2010/11.
His goal scoring feats aside, Rickie has proved to be an influential figure in the team, helping the club to win the Johnstone's Paint Trophy in 2010, before securing promotion into the Championship at the end of last season with a largely uninterrupted run of appearances throughout the campaign.
Lambert's decision to put pen to paper on a new three year deal with the club further displays both the striker's level of commitment to long term vision at Saints, and the club's own ambitions to have a settled and quality squad at Nigel Adkins' disposal.
Rickie's signing follows on from teammate Adam Lallana's four and a half year contract extension in January, which confirms another key player's future at St. Mary's.
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