SAINTS boss Russell Martin has detailed how he plans to be honest with players who are left out of the starting line up.

Even after offloading 12 players during the summer transfer window Saints currently still have a squad that contains 26 senior players.

Last Saturday's trip to Sunderland saw Moussa Djenepo, who is set to depart, and Paul Onuachu left out, while Kameldeen Sulemana, Jack Stephens and Ross Stewart are still to return from injury.

Although depth across the pitch will be key for Saints' Championship promotion ambitions, Martin will need to have difficult conversations throughout the season with players who miss out on starting.

The former Scotland international isn't worried about doing that and believes that honesty is the key to maintaining squad harmony, despite having to leave some players disappointed. 

“It’s up to me to manage all the players and make sure they are happy - the ones that are playing and the ones that aren’t playing," he told the Daily Echo.

“We also need to be flexible enough to make sure the ones that aren’t playing know that they will get game time.

“They are all working really hard to get into the team. Competition is so good, especially for a team that is fighting for promotion.

“It’s not a difficult conversation to have when you are both honest with each other all the time as a player and a coach.

"They are difficult conversations to have if you put them off or if you are dishonest and you make promises that you can’t keep.

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“You don’t expect players to agree or to like it when you tell them," he continued. "But you hope that they respect it and understand why.

"All you can hope for then is that they try their best to get into the team. If you sulk or you don’t add value to your teammate then you are never going to get back into the team that way.

"Bad body language or not training very well - that’s the worst way to get back into the team quickly."

Despite a summer full of transfer speculation, which even saw the Saints boss leave star forward Che Adams out of the squad for their 2-1 win over QPR, Martin hasn't had any indication that players will down tools when left out.

“We haven’t had that here. I know that it’s still early days but I don’t expect to have that with the character that the boys have got.

"Saying that, I would also never expect somebody to be happy that they are not playing - that would be madness.

"It’s a balancing act.  We have found that we can manage that really well at our previous clubs and we have to do that the same here."

One area were Saints look most stacked for numbers is midfield. Even with the summer departures of James Ward-Prowse and Romeo Lavia, Martin will likely still have problems selecting his midfield. 

In addition to having a wealth of depth in in the middle of the park, Southampton also have a number of players who can play at centre-back.

The deadline-day loan signing of Taylor Harwood-Bellis added a further option, while Shea Charles and Flynn Downes can also line up in the back four.

“I thought Shea did brilliantly there when he dropped into defence for us," Martin said reflecting on the win over QPR last month. 

"Flynn Downes did really well there as well at Swansea. We’ve also got Mason Holgate who has come into that position, he can also play at full-back and in holding midfield as well.

“We can be flexible. Shea and Jan Bedraek were really good together and managed the game really well. We have options all over the pitch."