'An element of pragmatism has to come in'

BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your questions.

Aldar asked: Russell Martin is receiving a lot of stick for "lack of pragmatism". We heard this song all last season about Vincent Kompany at Burnley. Well, he’s at Bayern Munich now, only one of the biggest clubs in the world, so worked out for him just fine. Why shouldn’t a young coach stick to principles that have won him success in the past no matter the cost, develop players in a more progressive system, and get himself on a shortlist for a top job in management? It's not like ‘pragmatism’ is a magic guarantee of safety and success. Or is it?

Phil replied: It is a real double-edged sword. Martin has a style and set of principles that he is determined to stick to and I thought Southampton looked very good until Cameron Archer missed the penalty against Manchester United.

I don’t happen to think Martin will change his approach, which is admirable, but if you are constantly losing this cannot be an enjoyable experience for him, his players or Southampton’s fans. So I believe an element of pragmatism has to come in - unless results come of course - if Saints want to stay in the Premier League.

Kompany did the same last season, refusing to budge on style, and it was a thoroughly miserable season for them. The players who played in such a fashion to stroll to the Championship were not good enough to pull it off in the Premier League.

As I said, I thought Southampton looked really good for 35 minutes on Saturday and Martin will believe if they play like that against teams in and around them, and in the middle of the table, they will get results.

I honestly believe the Kompany appointment was a bit freakish because Bayern Munich messed up their search for a new manager, even trying to persuade Thomas Tuchel to stay after announcing he was leaving.

It’s a great job for Kompany and there will be no excuses for failure.