Saints boss Martin 'expects a reaction'

Russell Martin's side have been in the thick of the Championship promotion race

Southampton manager Russell Martin says his side can "put right" Tuesday's defeat by Leicester in their remaining matches of the season.

The Championship leaders thrashed the Saints 5-0 and are now just one win away from a return to the Premier League.

Martin's team are now set for a fourth-placed finish, unable to be caught by fifth-placed West Brom and unlikely to catch Ipswich Town who are five points ahead with a game in hand.

Saints have a home game against 17th-placed Stoke City on Saturday before travelling to face Leeds on the final day of the regular season.

"I expect a reaction on Saturday," Martin told BBC Radio Solent.

"It will hurt more than you know losing like that but there will always been bumps in the road, it’s part and parcel of football."

Martin's side have struggled in recent weeks, winning just five of their past 10 games, and struggling to capitalise on the top three dropping points in the race for automatic promotion.

The final two games offer an opportunity to gain some momentum ahead of their play-off semi final.

And Martin remains optimistic that his side can go up.

"We can still achieve what we want to achieve this season," he said.

"We have a big chance to put it right Saturday. I like how they players have trained.

"We are going to hopefully have an interesting and exciting three or four weeks and we have to make sure we finish the season by achieving our goal."

Stewart returning to bolster attack

Ross Stewart has struggled with injuries since his move

Forward Ross Stewart is expected to be fit enough to feature in the squad for the trip to Elland Road.

Stewart signed from Sunderland on deadline day in the summer of 2023 and has struggled with two major injuries since being introduced at St Mary's.

Meanwhile, Martin is confident that there would be "no risk" in including Flynn Downes in Saturday's game after he missed the Leicester loss.