Southampton fired supervisor Russell Martin on Sunday night, somewhat greater than an hour after the workforce’s 5-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur that prolonged their keep in final place within the Premier League.
“Going into the beginning of the season, all of us knew the challenges that we might face this 12 months as we readjusted to life within the prime flight, competing in the most effective and best league on the planet,” a press release from the membership learn partly. “Nonetheless, the truth of our scenario is evident. The board have supported Russell and his employees and been open and clear concerning our expectations. Now we have all been on the identical web page in recognizing the urgency of needing outcomes to enhance.”
The Saints have been the punching bag of the Premier League since successful promotion to England’s prime flight this season with simply 5 factors to date, successful simply one among their 16 video games and conceding 36 targets whereas solely scoring 11. Sunday’s loss to Spurs, although, was their largest margin of defeat all season and compelled some supporters to exit St. Mary’s Stadium as quickly because the twenty fifth minute, when Pape Matar Sarr scored to make it 4-0 to the guests. It was not the one signal of hassle on Sunday – Martin switched Kamaldeen Sulemana off within the fifteenth minute, shortly after Tottenham took a 3-0 lead courtesy of Dejan Kulusevski.
The writing was seemingly on the wall for Martin by the ultimate whistle, regardless of the success he had final season with the workforce. Southampton completed fourth within the Championship earlier than incomes promotion by way of the playoffs and have been one of many second flight’s top-scoring sides with 87 targets throughout the common season.
Martin’s dedication to a mode of play popularized by most of the sport’s prime groups was doubtless his downfall. Whereas a possession-oriented strategy wherein Southampton performed out of the again labored within the Championship, the standard of his gamers in comparison with the remainder of the Premier League was finally a recipe for catastrophe. Primarily, it led to a porous protection but it surely additionally ensured that the Saints could be unable to duplicate their high-scoring habits from final season.
The supervisor defended his strategy in his pre-match feedback on Friday, at the same time as he admitted that their factors complete was “embarrassing.”
“I get criticized for a similar factor [as Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou], about being cussed and all that stuff, however should you consider in one thing and it is taken you a sure approach in life then to deviate too removed from that’s loopy,” Martin mentioned, per the BBC. “I am unable to communicate for him however we’re additionally adapting. We adapt form, strategy, personnel, however with the identical consistency about what’s necessary for us, with the identical idea of the sport. We won’t deviate too removed from that in any other case we change into nothing, actually. Everyone seems to be simply fast to criticize as of late.”
Simon Rusk, the supervisor of Southampton’s U-21 aspect, will take over for Martin whereas the membership searches for his everlasting successor. Martin was the second supervisor of the day to be let go within the Premier League becoming a member of Wolves’ Gary O’Neil.
