Southampton

John Bennett
BBC Radio 5 Live Sport reporter at Etihad Stadium

Image source, Getty Images

After a tough week, when he was clearly annoyed by the media questions about his future, Southampton manager Russell Martin was extremely proud of his players after their narrow defeat at Manchester City.

For us journalists and commentators watching in the press box, it was the team's defensive resilience which stood out, but what Martin was most pleased about was Southampton's "courage on the ball".

Yes it was a defeat, but Martin's message was that it is one of those losses that his players can take huge positives from.

A bit of a cliché maybe - but I think the Southampton fans were also proud of their team on Saturday, and as Martin says: "If we can do that here [at the Etihad], we really have no excuse but to play with the same mentality and aggression."

As for the speculation about his future? Just like last week, Martin is choosing to ignore it.

He told us after the game at the Etihad that their performance against Manchester City won't stop the critics, but that it doesn't bother him and he wants to build a long managerial career in the game.

Still no win and still just one point from eight games - but Everton at home on Saturday is another one of those huge opportunities to turn things around in the Premier League.

Martin will be hoping that the "courage" they showed in Manchester can be reproduced to finally get that elusive victory.

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Manchester City and Southampton.

Here are some of your comments:

City fans

Robert: Fairly typical display from City in the all too frequent attack vs defence mode. We are always prone to a breakaway goal though and Cameron Archer was unlucky to hit the bar late on in the first half. Haaland had a few chances himself. It was a sound City display and three points in the bag. The game was interesting right up to the end.

Stewart: I thought City were poor, so predictable. We made Southampton look good! We need another striker who can give us something different if Haaland ever gets injured!

Louis: Manchester City should be getting more shots on goal. When the defenders sit tight in front of goal, I feel like the oncoming defenders like Akanji, Dias and Lewis should be having a go at goal. I feel like Haaland should also be darting sideways, away from defenders, in order to create more openings in the 18-yard area.

Abdullah: Savinho played alright but he just doesn't really have the end product. I think we should've let him stay an another year at Girona and then bought him. Rodri is obviously is a big miss but it looks like Nunes and Kovacic are turning up. Let's see what happens.

Southampton fans

Cliff: A good resilient defensive display. Our passing was crisp, positive and most importantly forward. The Saints are trying their best for the manager, you can see that. However the lack of real quality up front was once again the difference. I think Saints should stick with Russell Martin regardless, but a top-quality finisher is a must in January.

Tom: Fair play to the players for not capitulating after the early goal. Sadly good performances that don't yield any points don't massively help. Bednarek completely outmuscled by Haaland for the goal. He and Jack Stephens weren't good enough the last time we were in the Premier League, and I'm not sure anything has changed in that regard. Everton is a must-win game.

Oliver: We have had many good performances, like this one, this season. However, at the end of the day, at our current rate we are on track for roughly four points. No amount of good performances, with no points in the bag, can change that.

James: I'm unsure how some Saints fans can celebrate a 1-0 loss to Manchester City, given the bigger picture of the management of the team. When will the board remove Russell Martin from his position as manager? It is now becoming embarrassing to watch the team decline like they are under him. His comments post-match are laughable!

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Ipswich, Southampton and Wolves are all still looking for a win after nine games.

Of the previous 24 sides winless after nine games, a third of them still survived at the end of the season.

However, only four of the last 17 sides in this situation stayed up.

Southampton have been in this position before in 1998-99 and survived on the final day.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Southampton midfielder Jo Tessem believes Russell Martin's side showed "progress" in their narrow defeat to current Premier League champions Manchester City and praised attacking midfielder Adam Lallana for his performance.

Speaking on the Goin' Home with Adam and Jo podcast, Tessem said: "It was progress. Our style of football seems to suit playing against better teams, in a way, because you have got to have good possessional play in football, it is important.

"But in this game we were using that possession in the right way. We were forward-thinking with our possession so even when we didn't play it forwards, we were at least looking forwards.

"That is the difference, instead of just playing the ball sideways.

"Obviously you are coming to play the champions, so you are going to be in for a tough game, but we played in two very low blocks with a 5-4-1 and it worked! When it works, you just have to ride the moments of the game and get away from them."

On Adam Lallana, who returned to Southampton on a one-year contract this summer, Tessem added: "He was brave on the ball and he was able to turn people.

"He made Mateo Kovacic really work for and earn his money because he was having to work harder to mark him.

"His possession was brave. He was bringing the players [on the pitch] up and bringing the level of the game up. This is the difference. We need him on the pitch."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Saturday's five Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from Friday's game between Leicester City and Nottingham Forest.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Aston Villa 1-1 Bournemouth

• Everton 1-1 Fulham

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

It feels like Southampton have got their performances the wrong way round - the defeat at Manchester City was one of their better efforts of the entire season.

Their concentration levels were excellent, particularly in defence, their passing was good and they chose the right time to counter-attack.

Pep Guardiola and Phil Foden praised Russell Martin's team and the warm words were genuinely meant.

But Southampton ended the game without a point, which is exactly the same as they got against Leicester City the week before, when they were not as good, particularly in that frantic last half hour when the contest was completely turned on its head.

The reality is Southampton's Premier League survival will not be determined by what they do against City, but it definitely will be in games like the Leicester one.

With Everton and Wolves to come, Russell Martin needs to get his team to perform when it really matters - otherwise there will be no escape from their present predicament.

The latest Goin' Home With Adam And Jo podcast has landed.

BBC Radio Solent's Adam Blackmore is joined by former Southampton player Jo Tessem to dissect the Saints' narrow defeat to current Premier League champions Manchester City.

Also hear from Southampton centre-forward Adam Armstrong on how the team "rode their luck" to try to get a result at the Etihad.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Southampton manager Russell Martin will not be allowed in the dugout for Tuesday's EFL Cup tie with Stoke City.

Martin was booked for complaining at a decision that went against his team during the first-half of Saturday's Premier League defeat at Manchester City. It was his third yellow card of the season.

After the match, Martin said the decision was 'nonsense' and he had effectively been cautioned by referee Tony Harrington 'for throwing my arms in the air' after Flynn Downes was cautioned for fouling Bernardo Silva.

Martin was unaware which match he would miss but said he thought it might be Southampton's next Premier League game.

However, the sanction covers the next match Southampton play, which is the cup tie at St Mary's Stadium.

Image source, Getty Images

Southampton are without a win in their last 22 Premier League games (D5 L17) - the outright third longest such run in the competition's history, after Derby County (32 games in 2007-08) and Sunderland (26 games between 2002 and 2005).

Southampton boss Russell Martin has been speaking to BBC Match of the Day following the defeat: "I'm proud of them. The courage they had and the build-up was incredible. We had some big moments, so I'm proud of that as well.

"I think we had more [chances] than most coming here. The level of courage and intensity to run and play football in our way was incredible. We will take a lot of belief from today. Not just the defending, the character after going 1-0 down early and the character to play in the way we want to.

"If we are going to lose, at least we will do it in a way that we can be proud of."

On Manchester City's goal: "The gap for Erling Haaland is too big. We worked on trying not to leave him one-on-one too often in the box, but he is the best in the business at that."

On whether he feels confident that points are coming: "I see enough, with discipline and mentality, that the lads believe in what they do. We have to maintain that.

"We should have more points on the board and we have to keep working in our way. Today we were more us than we have been in a long time, and if we carry that forward we will be fine."

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Man City's performance, external

What did you make of Southampton’s display?, external

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Five matches make up Saturday's Premier League action, and we will bring you every moment.

• Aston Villa v Bournemouth - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Brentford v Ipswich

• Brighton v Wolves

• Manchester City v Southampton

• Everton v Fulham - 17:30 - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-offs 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week nine he takes on rapper Nemzzz, who supports Manchester United.

Sutton's prediction: 4-0

I just don't know how Southampton pick themselves up from last week's defeat by Leicester, and there is only one outcome here.

It will be a rearguard action from the off by Saints - but they will end up losing. It is a question of how long they can hold out for, and then how many goals Manchester City will score.

In the Fantasy Premier League community, everyone is talking about triple captaining Erling Haaland, because he has not scored in his past three league games.

I'm saying Haaland will not score this week either, but City will score four and keep a clean sheet for the first time in the Premier League since their opening game of the season. They have to stop conceding eventually, surely.

Nemzzz's prediction: 3-1

As much as I am with United, City are just so hard to stop.

Read the full predictions and have your say here

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As a player, it is tough when you have not won in weeks and you know that everyone you are playing fancies their chances against you.

Teams will take it to you because they want to make you feel uncomfortable and, historically, teams near the bottom of a league do not have good away records, so that can then create anxiety for home fixtures because there is more pressure on them.

It does not matter how that first win comes but it is so important. But then immediately you will be looking at the fixtures and thinking when will the second come?

Everyone is objectively aware of how good the top four teams are, but some other teams are tough too. Those mid-table teams are often more robust.

Realistically, to survive you need between eight and 11 wins a season, but if you do not believe you can achieve that then that is another issue.

Players need to be able to handle any scenario you are given in the Premier League, but unfortunately for a lot of these teams near the bottom, they are so new to it so they can't lean on previous experiences. Lessons need to be learned quickly and then applied so that results start picking up.

But fans also need to look at performances as well as results.

Supporters might be looking at other managers as an option, but the grass isn't always greener - and then what if it makes no difference?

It is OK having positive performances but not getting anything out of the game - because at least you know you are along the right rack. It is when the performances aren't good that you can start to be concerned.

But having said that, no team should be in real panic mode right now.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

Crystal Palace, Ipswich Town, Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers all remain winless after eight Premier League games - so how can they kickstart their season?

Former Leeds, Everton and Leicester striker Jermaine Beckford tells The Football News Show that back-to-basics, low-risk football is their best bet.

Watch The Football News Show on iPlayer

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Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale says Southampton are improving and the narrative of boss Russell Martin "being stuck in his ways is nonsense".

Saints, who have just one point from eight games, travel to Manchester City on Saturday as their hunt for their first win of the season continues.

"I can definitely see changes in training," Ramsdale told BBC Radio Solent. "We are gelling more and you can see the relationships are starting to build.

"But trying to get games over the line and being rough in areas is easier said than done. We don't want to be a team that is going to grind it out for 95 minutes. There will be stages of games where we have to be resolute and stay together but we want to take the game to the opposition.

"It is not all about being pretty. Yes, we want to play pretty football, but ultimately it is about winning games.

"If anyone was to come here to this training ground and see what we do day to day, then they would have a completely different perception of him [Martin].

"A lot of the talk about playing out from the back and him being stuck in his ways is nonsense. That narrative can stop.

"It is down to us and Martin can't hold our hands to define moments. I absolutely love him. He is perfect for what I need."

Listen to the full interview with Ramsdale on BBC Sounds

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It is very easy for us to say what teams down the bottom of the table should be doing, but it is the manager who knows the players well enough to decide on what the best course of action is.

Their plan might not work at times, but if Southampton were to change their style, would they be five positions higher? Probably not.

It is about trying to maximise the squad they have and Russell Martin does not see himself to be doing the wrong things. He is just probably hoping his players can start to absorb learnings from the games to move forward with as experience.

The tough part for them is that you cannot live from the highs of games when you are not winning any. But once they do get that first much-needed win they might start managing games better.

Martin knows his team can compete because he knows his squad, but the hardest thing in the Premier League is trying to get points on the board. That is what they are struggling with.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

Millie Sian
BBC Sport researcher

Southampton boss Russell Martin has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game at Manchester City (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Will Smallbone will be out "for a little bit of time" with an injury. He described it as "really frustrating and disappointing" for the player and for the club.

• Meanwhile, Yukinari Sugawara has been "managed" in training this week, after coming off with an injury against Leicester City. The right-back will continue to be monitored for the next 24 hours to determine whether he will be available to start on Saturday.

• He is pleased with the reaction his players have shown after throwing away a two-goal lead against Leicester last weekend: "I have really liked how they have trained this week. They are such a good group, culturally, in the way they train and the intensity they train with. I think the reaction has been good - now they have to put it on the pitch."

• His relationship with the club's hierarchy is still "really good", even after a difficult start to managing in the Premier League: "Perception and reality are often very far apart in football. A lot of people made up that it was 'do or die' against Leicester City and that I would be sacked if we lost, but I'm still here. I feel nothing but support from them right now."

• On the "challenge" of taking on the current Premier League champions away from home: "You have to accept they are a brilliant team, with a brilliant manager and players. The challenge is so exciting for us - this is what we all worked so hard for last season. I think the challenge is to go there and see how brave we can be. We want to try to have enough moments ourselves to be able to come away and know that we have given it everything that we have got."

• The gameplan is to "try to win" rather than "try to avoid too much damage". He added: "I think you have to do that. Otherwise, what is the point?"

• Mentality is one of the key things Martin has been working on with the squad this week: "You can approach this game in many different ways. You can go to the Etihad, defend for 90 minutes and nick something - or you can go there, express yourselves, play with courage and try to have moments yourselves. I hope we have given them enough courage to do that."

• He added: "We aren't going to be defined by Manchester City away, but we need to be picking up points against the teams we will be really competing with. We have been so close - it has been frustrating."

• On Adam Lallana's role within his squad this season: "Adam is really involved in the process. We have a lot of honest chats and he understands he was brought in to help on and off the pitch. At 36 years old, we cannot expect him to help in every single game. He will definitely help us at some point."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the latest football news here

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BBC Solent's Adam Blackmore says it is "not the end of the world" if Southampton get immediately relegated back to the Championship.

Manager Russell Martin is coming under increasing pressure after a demoralising late comeback defeat at home to Leicester on Saturday left Saints with one point from their opening eight games.

"Let me play devil's advocate," Blackmore told the Saints And Sinners podcast.

"One - I wonder can the club afford to sack him and all his staff. It's an expensive business.

"Two - can they get a replacement they really want who can keep them up?

"Three - do they think they are going to struggle to stay up whoever is managing because of the players they have bought and the squad they have got? In which case they may as well leave Russell Martin in place anyway.

"Or Dragan Solak might be going: 'This is ridiculous. I'm going to need to fork out a whole lot more money here and I don't want to.'

"There are a growing number of Saints fans who already, like me, are missing the Championship.

"I get slaughtered for being too nice and too optimistic. If they stay up, brilliant, because I think then they can build. If they go down I don't think it's the end of the world because the ownership is at least solid, they already trimmed the staff and made people redundant the first time they went down so there is not much to change, the costs are less and they built in contracts with relegation clauses.

"I don't think the fallout would be what it was last time because I think they have their ship in order in regards to that in the future. I think a lot of the players would stay."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds