RUSSELL Martin has opened up on why new set piece coach Andreas Georgson is an 'amazing' addition to Southampton's coaching staff.

The Swede’s arrival on the south coast was confirmed hours before Saints' 1-2 opening-day victory against Sheffield Wednesday.

Georgson joins Saints from Allsvenskan side Malmö FF, where he has worked for 14 years, across two spells, most recently being their technical director.

Prior to returning to his native Sweden in 2021, he worked under Mikel Arteta as Arsenal’s head of set pieces.

The 41 year old was snapped up by Arsenal having impressed Arteta during his brief spell working in the same role at Brentford.

During his time with the Gunners, Georgson was credited with improving their overall performances from set pieces.

Arsenal conceded the lowest number of goals from set plays (5) in the Premier League throughout his first full season at the club.

That was a stark improvement on the 15 goals they had allowed in their previous campaign.

Even with a track record like this, he wasn't the only set piece expert Southampton took a look at over the summer.

“We spoke to quite a few people about the set piece role which is probably why it’s taken quite a while," Martin revealed to the Daily Echo.

“Then it was about trying to get Andreas out of his current role (at Malmo) and getting him into this one.

“We are really pleased that we have been able to do it, although it’s a little bit later than we would have liked and he would have liked."

After conversations between the pair both Martin and Gerogson were keen to strike a deal to work together.

“He is massive so we are thinking of putting him on to defend a set piece himself,” Martin joked when asked what it was that made him want to add Georgson to his coaching staff.

“He’s had real success at Brentford and Arsenal, he’s done a lot of jobs in different roles and he was really keen to come and be a part of the project here because he is intrigued by the style of play.”

Upon his arrival at Staplewood, director of football Jason Wilcox described Georgson as someone who ‘eats, sleeps and breathes set-pieces.’

Despite the former Rosengard defender only being at the club for a short period of time, Martin has already seen how his expertise will benefit all parties moving forward.

“Even today (I’ve seen) the intensity of his work and the level of detail.

"I couldn’t spend too long in there with the set pieces because it’s not how my brain works,” Martin continued with a grin across his face.

“Gilly (Matt Gill), Dean (Thornton) and Carl (Martin) ended up in there with him for a long time, which are the perks of the job I guess, worrying about other stuff.”

The importance of set pieces in the Championship can’t be overstated.

Last season, promotion-winning Sheffield United scored 15 times from corners, which was the highest amount in the Championship.

Fellow promoted sides Luton Town and Burnley were also productive from corners scoring nine and eight respectively.

All three totals are higher than Swansea, where Saints boss Martin managed last season, who only managed to score five goals from corners.

While it must be pointed out that a set piece coach isn’t solely hired to organise corners – their role in fact encompasses a much wider remit – the additional goals scored and prevented could be of benefit to Saints as they gun for promotion.

Southampton were able to limit Sheffield Wednesday to just six shots from open play on Friday night – with four of those coming in the space of 20 seconds.

However, the Owls' only shot on target came from a corner and resulted in an equaliser, much to the disappointment of Martin.

Speaking after his side’s victory at Hillsborough, the former Scotland international said: “Andreas is going to be amazing for us.

“We spoke to the lads today that their (Sheffield Wednesday’s) biggest threat would come from set pieces and counterattacks.

“We were able to nullify the counterattacks very well, especially compared to some of the pre-season games so the lads are really learning on that, but set plays are so important in the Championship.

“We showed the guys the records of teams who have got into the Premier League.

“The strength of their set pieces over the last couple of years was so important, so we have to improve on that.”