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Southampton sacked manager Russell Martin on Sunday night, just over an hour after the team’s 5-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur extended their stay in last place in the Premier League.
“At the start of the season, we all knew the challenges we would face this year as we readjusted to life in the top flight, competing in the best and most competitive league in the world,” read a statement from the club. part. “However, the reality of our situation is clear. The board has been supportive of Russell and his staff and has been open and transparent about our expectations. We have all been on the same page in recognizing the urgency of needing results to improve” .
The Saints have been the Premier League’s punching bag since gaining promotion to England’s top flight this season with just five points so far, winning just one of their 16 games and conceding 36 goals and only scoring 11. However Sunday’s loss to Spurs, however, was their largest margin of defeat all season and forced some fans to leave St. Mary’s Stadium as early as the 25th minute, when Pape Matar Sarr scored to put 4-0 to the visitors. It wasn’t the only sign of trouble on Sunday: Martin pulled off Kamaldeen Sulemana in the 15th minute, shortly after Tottenham had taken a 3-0 lead through Dejan Kulusevski.
Martin apparently had the writing on the wall when the final whistle blew, despite the success he had last season with the team. Southampton finished fourth in the championship before progressing to the playoffs and was one of the top scoring teams in the second division with 87 goals during the regular season.
Martin’s dedication to a style of play popularized by many of the sport’s top teams was likely his undoing. While a possession-oriented approach that saw Southampton play out from the back worked in the Championship, the quality of their players compared to the rest of the Premier League was ultimately a recipe for disaster. Mainly, it created a porous defense, but it also ensured that the Saints couldn’t replicate their high-scoring habits from last season.
The manager defended his approach in his pre-match comments on Friday, although he admitted the points total was “embarrassing”.
“They criticize me for the same thing [as Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou]about being stubborn and all that, but if you believe in something and it’s led you down a certain path in life, then to deviate too much from that is crazy,” Martin said, according to the BBC. “I can’t speak for him but we also we are adapting. We adapt the form, the approach, the personnel, but with the same consistency in what is important to us, with the same concept of the game. We cannot deviate too much from that, otherwise we will really become nothing. Nowadays everyone is quick to criticize.”
Southampton Under-21 coach Simon Rusk will replace Martin as the club searches for his permanent successor. Martin was the second manager of the day to be sacked in the Premier League, joining Wolves. Gary O’Neil.
