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Southampton fired manager Russell Martin on Sunday evening, a little more than an hour after the team’s 5-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur that extended their stay in last place in the Premier League.
“Going into the start of the season, we all knew the challenges that we would face this year as we readjusted to life in the top flight, competing in the best and most competitive league in the world,” a statement from the club read in part. “However, the reality of our situation is clear. The board have supported Russell and his staff and been open and transparent regarding our expectations. We have all been on the same page in recognizing the urgency of needing results to improve.”
The Saints have been the punching bag of the Premier League since winning promotion to England’s top flight this season with just five points so far, winning just one of their 16 games and conceding 36 goals while only scoring 11. Sunday’s loss to Spurs, though, was their largest margin of defeat all season and forced some supporters to exit St. Mary’s Stadium as soon as the 25th minute, when Pape Matar Sarr scored to make it 4-0 to the visitors. It was not the only sign of trouble on Sunday – Martin switched Kamaldeen Sulemana off in the 15th minute, shortly after Tottenham took a 3-0 lead courtesy of Dejan Kulusevski.
The writing was seemingly on the wall for Martin by the final whistle, despite the success he had last season with the team. Southampton finished fourth in the Championship before earning promotion through the playoffs and were one of the second flight’s top-scoring sides with 87 goals during the regular season.
Martin’s dedication to a style of play popularized by many of the sport’s top teams was likely his downfall. While a possession-oriented approach in which Southampton played out of the back worked in the Championship, the quality of his players compared to the rest of the Premier League was ultimately a recipe for disaster. Primarily, it led to a porous defense but it also ensured that the Saints would be unable to replicate their high-scoring habits from last season.
The manager defended his approach in his pre-match comments on Friday, even as he admitted that their points total was “embarrassing.”
“I get criticized for the same thing [as Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou], about being stubborn and all that stuff, but if you believe in something and it’s taken you a certain way in life then to deviate too far from that is crazy,” Martin said, per the BBC. “I can’t speak for him but we are also adapting. We adapt shape, approach, personnel, but with the same consistency about what is important for us, with the same concept of the game. We can’t deviate too far from that otherwise we become nothing, really. Everyone is just quick to criticize these days.”
Simon Rusk, the manager of Southampton’s U-21 side, will take over for Martin while the club searches for his permanent successor. Martin was the second manager of the day to be let go in the Premier League joining Wolves’ Gary O’Neil.
