“Hopefully I’ll be talking to you in two weeks. If not, we’ll see.”
Southampton boss Russell Martin was philosophical on Saturday after seeing his side beaten by Gary O’Neil’s struggling Wolves to leave the Saints bottom of the Premier League with nine defeats from 11 games.
The head coach fielded, however briefly, one question about his future after the game, which had been previewed by some as the battle of the under-pressure bosses.
That record has left Martin under the spotlight for both his style and results this season, especially going into November’s international break.
“It will be what it will be. We work as hard as we can, give as much care, love and commitment to the players as we can. The rest is out of my control. I don’t sweat it or focus on it,” he added in his post-match press conference at Molineux.
The experience of Rasmus Ankersen, co-founder and chief executive of Saints owners Sport Republic, means he remains patient and strategic.
His time at Brentford as co-director of football – helping to oversee the Bees’ rise and Premier League promotion – has given him knowledge of how to build a sustainable model and a successful team.
The owners also remain visible at Saints’ Staplewood training ground, with a week rarely going by when they are not present.
That gives Martin support, for now – and potentially more time. Despite winning just one of their opening 11 games, Southampton are not drastically underperforming or dramatically behind where they were expected to be.
A pre-season aim of survival – a 17th place finish – plus shaping the squad and building value from it is still very much achievable.
That is recognised at St Mary’s, and there is an understanding of the challenges faced this season.
That will become a factor in any long-term thinking, especially as defeat in the Midlands on Saturday did not come without frustrations or controversy after Ryan Manning’s equaliser was ruled out. But Southampton failed to build on last weekend’s 1-0 win over Everton, their first Premier League victory of the season.
Transfer troubles & Wilcox not replaced
Chief executive Phil Parsons led the transfer negotiations in the summer after director of football Jason Wilcox departed to become technical director at Manchester United.
Parsons’ previous experience was as an executive at appliance company Dyson, and Wilcox’s exit left a hole at St Mary’s.
Wilcox, who was instrumental in bringing Martin to the club from Swansea in 2023, has still not been replaced, with the likely scenario being Southampton appointing someone to oversee Sport Republic’s group of clubs.
Newly-promoted Saints lacked the football experience needed in that role during this summer’s transfer window and suffered.
They lost out to Ipswich for Liam Delap and winger Jack Clarke – the Tractor Boys offering higher wages for striker Delap despite Saints also agreeing a £20m package with Manchester City.
A deal to bring West Ham midfielder Flynn Downes back following last season’s loan eventually got over the line – despite almost being scuppered by Ipswich again – while three bids for Matt O’Riley, the final worth around £20m, were not enough to tempt Celtic to sell before the midfielder joined Brighton.
Ultimately, the summer’s struggles left former Scotland international Martin at a disadvantage going into the season.
Importance was put on signings’ mentality and character, and having no, or little, scar tissue from previous Premier League relegation experience.
Adam Lallana gives crucial know-how, Nathan Wood, Cameron Archer and Ronnie Edwards offer promise, while Aaron Ramsdale’s deadline day move from Arsenal showed the Saints hierarchy did eventually understand the need for a player who could make a difference.
This week, Ramsdale and Taylor Harwood-Bellis were handed senior England call-ups.
However, Southampton will need to be more decisive in January, when they are expected to be in the market for up to three additions to boost the survival prospects of one of the least experienced squads in the top flight.
The players Martin has, though, are a tight-knit group and morale remains high, with the players still firmly behind Martin’s policy and philosophy.
Style v substance
Southampton have been the masters of their own downfall on several occasions this season.
Going into Saturday’s match, they had made six mistakes leading to goals, the highest in the division, and had faced 13 shots following errors – again a league high.
Against Wolves, Kyle Walker-Peters’ loose header gave Matheus Cunha the chance to run and set up Pablo Sarabia for Wolves’ crucial opener, with the forward running from the halfway line to the edge of the Saints box unchallenged.
“As much as we talk about us with the ball, we have to stop conceding really crap goals,” added Martin.
Before the weekend, Saints ranked second in the Premier League for their passing accuracy (88.3%) and successful passes per game (468), while their possession averaged 55.1% – the fifth highest in the division.
They dominated the ball again at Molineux, having 71% of possession, but were unable to force Jose Sa into a meaningful save. Saints have scored just seven times in the league this season.
After the latest defeat, Martin outlined the challenges he has faced to set up his teams during his mangerial career.
“Every team we’ve had has looked similar but we’ve had to find a different way,” he said.
“At MK Dons we had two strong powerful centre-forwards so played two strikers and found a way to score goals. At Swansea we didn’t have any wingers so we had to play defenders or midfielders.
“Last season we had so much attacking power for the Championship we scored a lot of goals.
“Now the guys are doing what we were told we couldn’t in terms of having so much of the ball in the Premier League, but there has to be the same mentality there was last year.
“Whichever style of play you have, the game is about beating your opponent and dominating your opponent and we don’t do that quite enough yet.”
Belief but results are needed
There is a firm belief Saints are not far away – and have not been – from a breakthrough.
Those at St Mary’s feel they should have earned more points than the four they have so far – indeed they were the better side at Molineux until Cunha’s strike six minutes into the second half sapped their momentum.
Saints conceded a last-minute equaliser to draw 1-1 with Ipswich in September, before throwing away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 to Leicester in stoppage time. Those dropped points would have lifted them out of the relegation zone – evidence of the fine margins at the bottom.
Yet that is hypothetical – and with the slow start has come criticism of Martin’s possession and passing style, which is to be expected, and something the head coach has been forced to defend.
“I always find it fascinating that someone can watch six minutes of highlights and have a really credible opinion of your team, [and] you as a person as well, about being stubborn or whatever,” he said last month.
“I would always invite those people to come and sit down and have a chat about it and why we would do things if they want to have a really educated opinion rather than an educated guess – or an uneducated guess sometimes.”
Martin was appointed last summer to take Southampton back to the Premier League, something he delivered by beating Leeds in the play-off final.
Saints are still within reach of this season’s goal of survival, and there is a feeling there is little point in ripping up the blueprint and starting again.
But, as they sit bottom, Martin knows better than anyone that the scrutiny will only continue to grow.
