EVERY word Saints boss Russell Martin said ahead of his side travelling to Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.

How do you feel about the festive period?

I really enjoy the Christmas period in terms of games. It’s been my life with the Boxing Day game even as a fan, as a kid.

You always wanted to go to a game. I don’t think I’ve ever played on the 23rd before being that close to the Boxing Day game, but everyone must deal with it.

I think we have got a really good squad. We have good depth so it’s going to be a busy period. We are going to need everyone for sure.

I would probably argue that it’s not that conducive to amazing games of football by the time that fourth game comes around.

We have fantastic facilities here, really good sports science and medical departments and we will try and take the best care we possibly can of the players and make sure they’re ready to perform in every single game.

So, it’s one game at a time, we have a tough game on Saturday against a team that is looking very different from how they were before.

They had some good results, and they look like they are starting to enjoy working with the new manager there.

It looks like the fans have got a good buy-in and everything like that. Loftus Road is a tough place to go as well. The pitch is tight and a bit smaller.

We will be taking a lot of fans so it will be a good atmosphere. I’m looking forward to this whole period. It’s going to hopefully be a good one for us.

How tough is it to deal with a tight stadium as an away player?

The challenge for our team is to be the team we always want to be. That is no different this Saturday.

We’re going to go there with a clear gameplan, a clear identity with a group of supporters who have been amazing on the road.

There’s been really good momentum and good belief in what we are doing, and we will be the team we want to be. You hope that will turn into a positive result.

That is the challenge. Wherever we go, the size of the pitch, the size of the ground, the atmosphere, the moment the opposition is at in terms of results, the challenge for us is to always be ourselves.

Maybe tomorrow will take even more courage than ever. I’m looking forward to it.

Should it be the same way away as at home?

I think we’ve had some really good away results and performances. If you look at what Watford and Coventry have done after those games, it shows you how difficult a game those probably were.

Wherever we are, whoever we are going to play against, we are always going to try and be the team we want to be.

I don’t think we are ever going to go away from home and think we need to get a point or adapt the game plan hugely.

One, because we believe in what we are doing and the group of players we have, and like Wayne (Smith, former New Zealand Rugby Union player and coach) said, it’s the same really.

So what changes is your mentality around the opposition fans. When the men in our team are in a flow that shouldn’t matter.

I do think it takes even more courage to do that when there is stuff going on in the stadium, the noise, and the opposition having a spell.

The opposition always does in any game of football. It’s just how long that is. It’s a challenge for us, we are always going to try and be that team.

So far, the lads have done that brilliantly.

We are a bit frustrated after the last few results we’ve had so now is a time to go and hopefully put in a performance to be proud of and see us on the right side of a positive result and keep this momentum building.

The feeling we have now is great and I want the supporters to hold onto that feeling for as long as we possibly can.

How would you sum up the first half of the season?

I am more excited than I was when I first walked into the building. We are loving the challenge.

I love the feeling we are building here and the spirit and togetherness and watching the team grow. I’m proud of what the team is doing on the pitch.

I’m proud of how far the connection has come between the supporters and the team in that space of time.

The only frustration I have and annoyance I have is with myself. The four-game period is really frustrating but on either side of that, the players have been amazing.

The staff and the support we’ve had since we’ve been here has been brilliant. I’m really grateful to be in this position as manager, it’s a real privilege.

I feel the responsibility of that every single day and that’s what drives you on, but I think we’re in a really good place, we’re ready to keep going, to keep building, to keep improving so there’s a lot of gratitude, and pride in the work that the players have done and what they are giving us on the pitch is incredible at times.

But you’re never fully satisfied when you sit in this position because of the amount of responsibility you have.

As a group of staff, we know we need to improve, what we need to do to improve, and we will keep giving everything we possibly can to do that.

We’ve set ourselves up for an exciting second half of the season. To do that after the September that we had is no mean feat.

It takes huge courage and intensity from the players and I’m really proud of them for that.

The challenge is to keep doing it and be relentless in our approach to everything and see how far it can take us because I think it’s going to be an exciting second half of the season.

Are there any new injury updates?

Everyone is good. Jack (Stephens) played another 45 minutes with the under-21s so it’s nice to see him back out there and to get some more minutes after being able to come on against Blackburn.

He played a beautiful pass to Sekou (Mara) to set the penalty up. We are in a good place. Hopefully, we can maintain that over these four games because we are going to need everyone.

Flynn (Downes) felt much better after having 60 minutes, so the biggest problem is choosing the team with so many good players.

It is a brilliant problem to have and there will be some changes over these four games for sure.

I can’t tell you what they are going to be yet because I don’t know myself. You have a team in mind for each one but then things change very quickly.

I’m really looking forward to it and the squad is in a good place.