SAINTS boss Russell Martin says he ‘hopes’ to give young players a chance as he aims to gain promotion from the Championship this season. 

The 37 year old has been tasked with taking Southampton back to the Premier League, following last campaign's disappointing relegation. 

In contrast to the senior team, last season was hugely successful for Southampton’s youth sides.

Dave Horseman’s Saints B team clinched the Premier League 2 Division 2 title, whilst the under-18s reached the semi-final of the FA Youth Cup.

In his previous role at Swansea, Martin had to juggle the task of developing a young squad while trying to get the desired results.

That’s something the retired defender will likely have to do once more at St Mary’s having inherited a squad packed with high-potential players who will be eager to return to the Premier League.

When asked by the Daily Echo if he will continue to provide first-team opportunities to Saints talented youngsters the former Scotland international answered: “I hope so, that will be the aim.

Daily Echo: Russell Martin during pre-seasonRussell Martin during pre-season (Image: Southampton FC)

“We have a task at hand to try and get back to the Premier League as quick as we can but when you look at the previous clubs we’ve been at, one of our strongest skillsets as a coaching staff has been developing young players – it’s probably why we got the job at Swansea.”

“I think we were the second youngest team in the league last season and now they’ve got young guys like Joel Piroe and Nathan Wood who are going to be really, really good for Swansea or make the club a lot of money.

He continued: “That’s after Flynn Downes last summer who was the same.

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“We will try, I’m really close with Dave, Louis and Lee in the under-21s and I’ve been really impressed with how open they’ve been with new ideas.

“The B team had a great season last season and the 18s too, so there is a lot of good talent.

“It is our job to make sure they get enough exposure with us to understand what it takes and see how good they can be, but also when they go back to under-21s that they maintain the standard they have been at with us.

As a result of last season’s success - and the fact some senior players are yet to return to Staplewood - a number of Saints youngsters have already been involved in first-team training during pre-season.

Dom Ballard, Kami Doyle and Sam Amo-Ameyaw, who all featured in Southampton’s final Premier League game against Liverpool, have been spotted training under Martin ahead of this season.

Ballard, who was nominated for the PL 2 Player of the Season award and recently signed a contract extension at St Mary’s, has already stated his intention of gaining more first-team experience in the Championship.

"I think there's a lot more to come from me and I think it's going to be an exciting year. My aim this year is definitely to try and cement my place around the first team."

Martin feels the club are now in a better position to offer youngsters a pathway into the first team.

He said: “I think everyone is aligned now, we have a great understanding of where the academy players are at and it’s up to us to make sure that a few of them get there.

“It’s so important for any club but especially this one, with the tradition it’s had of bringing players through. Hopefully, they will play a bit of that.”