VAR took eight points off Martin's team - Solak
Dragan Solak has spoken to the BBC for the first time since buying a majority stake in Southampton
- Published
Southampton chairman Dragan Solak believes former boss Russell Martin would have had a longer spell in charge if VAR had not cost them points during last season's Premier League campaign.
Martin was sacked in December following a 5-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur, leaving them with just one win in their return to the top flight and a league-low of 11 goals.
Solak told BBC Radio Solent it wasn't all Martin's fault and decisions that didn't go his way from the VAR hub had affected them.
"I really believe he was absolutely, fundamentally behind his idea of football and that is not easy in an environment like the Premier League that is so competitive," Solak said.
"But to give him credit we were quite unlucky, I don't even know how to characterise some of the VAR decisions that we had - but in my opinion VAR took eight points off Russell's team.
"If he had those eight points more in December I think he would probably manage the team through the whole season.
"I'm not saying we would stay in the league but we would have [had] a much more competitive run and Russell would definitely still be leading the team."
