RUSSELL Martin is looking forward to focusing on football after the transfer window closes this Friday and believes it will 'help' Saints improve.

Martin has had to contend with a lot of uncertainty surrounding his players whilst trying to revamp the club's philosophy.

Despite that, Southampton have started the Championship season unbeaten having earned 10 points from their first four fixtures.

Martin has praised his players in the past for their willingness to learn and train hard, even though some players don't know if they'll remain at Saints beyond the transfer deadline.

Asked how much he is looking forward to focusing solely on football when the transfer window is closed, Martin responded: “Hugely.

“The best bit of the job is when you get to work with the players on the grass. The fewer disruptions you have, the bigger the focus is from the players.

“I think as a club we’ve navigated through this window of change so well. But we will still improve and the window shutting will definitely help with that.

“Not just because we will bring in players that can help us, but because everything else will stop and we can just purely focus on the work of improving the team.

“That’s the most exciting bit. Even though there is so much good stuff, we have to do that.

“I was talking to (Matt) Gilly this morning about how we can be quite critical of ourselves and I think we’ve not been too happy about the last two performances.

“We don’t get caught up on performances too much. I know it’s a results-driven sport, but when you get emotional about results then the whole world becomes a little topsy-turvy.

“We have been purely focused on the performance - which has to get better from the last two games. But despite that, the lads have found a way to win.

“The character has been there, the togetherness has been there. After last season that was the one thing I was worried might take some time to build - but they are there with that.”