Southampton

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At a news conference on Thursday, England interim head coach Lee Carsley spoke about Southampton centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall, who have received their first call-ups to the senior squad.

"Both players who have played a lot of minutes this season and showed they can play at a high level," said Carsley.

"I know them both really well. Taylor is a player who really deserves it, he's a brilliant captain. Lewis has taken his time to settle in but has shown he can be consistent. He's got a great left foot."

Image source, PA Media

England interim manager Lee Carsley has named a 26-man squad for the upcoming Nations League games against Greece and Republic of Ireland.

Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall and Southampton centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis have received their first call-ups to the senior side, with Saints' Aaron Ramsdale one of three goalkeepers selected.

The only other uncapped player in the squad is Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones, while there is no place for Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers.

These will be Carsley's final two matches in charge before Thomas Tuchel becomes Gareth Southgate's full-time successor from 1 January.

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Southampton).

Defenders: Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Rico Lewis (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Lewis Hall (Newcastle), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Southampton).

Midfielders: Conor Gallagher (Atletico Madrid), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Angel Gomes (Lille), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Curtis Jones (Liverpool).

Forwards: Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham).

After a poor set of results to start the season, Southampton now have a Premier League win to their name and are gearing up for a key game against Wolves on Saturday.

Much has been written about Russell Martin, his tactics and whether the Saints can adapt to top-flight football.

But what is the one thing nobody is talking about - good or bad?

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The latest episode of BBC Radio Solent's Saints and Sinners podcast has landed.

Tom Deacon and Adam Blackmore enjoy the Saints' first Premier League victory of the season, and are joined by Ryan Leister from The Wolves Report podcast to preview Saturday's match at Molineux.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Ray Hunt
Fan writer

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At last. The moment we all needed.

We needed some luck, but we got there somehow. Finally a win in the Premier League that ends the 19-month wait.

It follows a busy, but successful week for Saints after progression in the Carabao Cup to the quarter-finals on Tuesday night with a narrow, nail-biting victory over struggling Championship side Stoke City.

Confidence was indeed built from the buoyant, but ultimately unsuccessful trip to Manchester City where Russell Martin quoted: "Today has given me even more belief. But we have a massive two weeks ahead, starting on Tuesday."

With Tuesday's opponents Stoke taken care of (just) the attentions switched to Everton. The one that really mattered. Once again, we made things difficult and nervy in true Saints style. Can you blame us after all the negativity and late concessions?

With three points finally in the bag, the pressure has eased on Martin, albeit, it is a minor respite. Focus will now turn to another crunch game at the bottom of the league. Wolves host Saints next - the team that replaced us at the foot of the table and who still search for that elusive first win of the campaign.

It is going to be another long week full of tension as we wait, but we should enjoy this win and be proud. Could this be a turning point? A win at Wolves would spark more belief, but it is important to remember it is only one win. This was a lucky escape. On the flip side, luck has been against us with those marginal decisions.

Losing at Molineux would see us return to the bottom and pile the pressure back on, with the prospect of Liverpool visiting after the next international break.

It is a valuable win. A building block. In the words of Kyle Walker-Peters - "be calm and trust the process".

Find more from Ray Hunt at the In that Number podcast, external