RUSSELL Martin heaped praise on Stuart Armstrong following his goalscoring cameo in Saints 3-2 pre-season friendly loss against AFC Bournemouth.

Armstrong fired home from the edge of the box to draw Southampton level, moments after coming onto the field, before David Brooks secured a late winner for the Cherries at St Mary's.

This isn't the first time that Martin has worked with Armstrong as the pair previously linked up for Scotland during the retired defender's playing career.

That time together has given the Southampton boss a good understanding of the ability the former Celtic midfielder possesses.

“I know what Stu is capable of," Martin said reflecting on his former teammate's performance.

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"I know how good of a player he is. He’s such a smooth footballer and is such a great athlete.

“He possesses everything he needs to play at the very top and I think we will give him a platform where he can really show what he can do."

Armstrong was amongst the group of Saints players who joined pre-season late, due to his international commitments with Scotland.

The 31 year old didn't travel to Turkey for Southampton's warm-weather training camp and was making his first appearance of pre-season against Bournemouth on Tuesday.

Martin is hoping that the past week of training will have convinced the 42-time Scotland international to remain on the south coast this season.

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"I hope that he has had some enjoyment over the last ten days that really excite him about what’s to come moving forwards.

“Like so many of the players, their mindset has had to change in a very big way because they had so much disappointment last season and a lot of them felt very strongly about coming back and where their future may lie.

"I think quite a few have changed their mind or are open to changing their mind, and I hope Stu is one of them."