Incredibly painful and embarrassing: Martin opens up about Southampton’s dismal start

Russell Martin admits it is “incredibly painful and embarrassing” that his Southampton team have managed just five points from their first 15 Premier League games.

The Saints achieved promotion to the top flight last season via the play-offs, but the rise in quality proved too much for them, winning just one game, against also struggling Everton.

Individual mistakes have blighted the Saints’ progress, but Martin remains confident that better times are ahead.

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Speaking ahead of Sunday night’s game against Tottenham at St. Mary’s, he said: “We shouldn’t be where we are. It is incredibly painful and embarrassing to have five points; we should have more.

”But there have been too many mistakes and too many moments that we have not managed well.

“We have had disappointments in games and setbacks, but we have to keep trying to grow: grow as a group, grow individually and prepare the players for those moments when it is difficult, and find ways for them to cope emotionally.

“But they are growing, they are improving and they are very competitive.”

Martin knows what Postecoglou is going through

Martin has faced criticism for his style of play and several of the aforementioned errors occurred due to his insistence on playing from the back.

He therefore has sympathy for his counterpart this weekend, Ange Postecoglou, who has also been accused of stubbornness for his refusal to deviate from his all-out attacking philosophy.

Martin added: “I get criticized for the same thing, for being stubborn and all that, but if you believe in something and it’s led you down a certain path in life, then deviating too much from that is crazy.

“I can’t speak for him but we are also adapting. We adapt form, approach, personnel but with the same coherence in what is important to us, with the same concept of the game. We cannot deviate too much from that, otherwise we will really become nothing.

“Everyone is quick to criticize these days and I have a lot of respect for them.”

It’s good to be different from the norm – Martin

Martin believes different approaches improve the game, even if they leave managers open to skepticism when results go down.

“People only criticize those who are a little different from the norm,” he said. “So if we all believed the same thing, it would be pretty boring, but we would be less open to criticism.

“I watched his (Postecoglou) Celtic team a lot, they were brilliant. They received a lot of praise for being so brave and aggressive. He did a great job, won many trophies and played in the Champions League.

“He goes to Spurs and starts very well, so when the results are good no one questions the style, his convictions or his belief system. Then, the moment it starts to fail, it’s always because of that.”