Every word from Southampton's Martin on Stewart, Millwall & away form

Is it a classic Championship scenario with Gary Rowett being gone but them only being six points off the play-offs?

Gary (Rowett) did an amazing job. I have got a lot of respect and time for Gary as a person and a manager. I was surprised that he left.

There has been a change at the club and a tragic event with the owner. I do not know if that changed anything for Gary. Quite a few people were surprised because he had done a brilliant job in how they finished, the identity of the team, how hard they worked, and the way they recruited.

They are just a proven Championship team that has been in and amongst it every year and this year is no different. They are fighting, they work extremely hard for each other, they have good athleticism, good size and they are good at what they do.

Millwall is never an easy game but maybe they thought it was time for a change, maybe Gary felt it was time for a change. I do not know. He is a tough act to follow there, for sure.

How difficult is it going to Millwall?

It can be a really good occasion. You must go there and understand what it means to their supporters, the environment it is in, and the hostility that you face when you go there. You have to understand all of that, and we have got a lot of players that have played there and some that have not.

It is up to us to prepare them for that but to turn the game into a game that we want it to be ultimately wherever we go. It is an interesting time to go there with Adam (Barrett) in charge who is another great guy. They have given everything for him, and you do not expect anything different at Millwall, their fans give them everything as well and make it difficult.

We must go there with the same mentality of the last six games to try and turn the game into one that we want it to be and to try and control as much of it as possible. You must really fight and run at Millwall regardless of how you play and then hopefully the rest will take care of itself.

How important is it to keep the momentum going into the international break?

We spoke about there being two games and needing a big effort before the break. It will then be relentless until March which I actually prefer because it does not disrupt rhythm and you get time on the grass.

It has been a good week. The players are in a good place. It has been topped off nicely with Ross Stewart playing 45 minutes for the under-21s. There is a nice feel about it, and it is up to us to make sure that it does not get too comfortable at any point. We are trying to hunt the teams above us for sure and make sure we stay away from the ones below us.

We have a big job to do. We have had a nice two three-game weeks on either side of the break, but it is not enough, and we must keep driving. We have a brilliant group of players who are buying into what they are doing and believing. They are taking real pride in what they are doing. That is enjoyable to be a part of, so we have to keep that feeling going.

How big a moment is it for Ross Stewart in his transition towards the first team?

Firstly, it is a huge moment for him as a person because he has been out for a long time and anyone can see how hard he has worked since he has been here. I have no doubt that he had the same mentality when he was at Sunderland to try and get fit. He has had a couple of setbacks along the way which is to be expected with such a long-term injury.

For him as a lad and a person, I am delighted. Selfishly for us as a group of coaches and a squad, it is a brilliant moment for us because he is going to contribute a lot. I do not think we should expect too much too soon from him. He has been out a long while.

He scored today. It is a goal that is typical of him, he runs to the box, attacks it and it is a great finish. I am sure that will get supporters excited and expecting a lot. I think we have to be patient. He has been out for a long while but it will be nice to get him back before the international break. Hopefully, now he has a good week training with us and we can include him in the squad next week.

Is it a good problem to have with all the attacking options including Stewart if he can stay fit?

We have some brilliant options. We have Ryan Fraser playing so well, he will be in the team at some point very soon. We have Che (Adams) and Arma pushing each other. Ross will only add to that. Sekou (Mara) trains fantastically well. Then the guys out wide like Kamaldeen. Charly (Alcaraz) scored at the weekend which will do him the world of good.

So, yeah we have a lot of competition. It is a really nice problem to have. The most important thing is that we try and keep everyone motivated, everyone happy by giving them every bit of detail that we have in training, every bit of energy we have and then trying to get them on the pitch at some point when it is the right moments.

It is only going to add to the healthy competition that the group has. It will give us another dynamic for sure, another option for different games which is nice.

How important is it to get Kamaldeen a goal now?

We need our wide men to contribute. Sam Edozie has a couple and Ryan Fraser scored. I think Kamaldeen knows where we feel that he can improve. I think that he agrees with a lot of it. He is an outstanding talent and a great guy as well. He has great energy and works really hard.

There are bits of his game that if he improves on, such as scoring and he has a few assists now and he will keep contributing with that I am sure because of how much he possesses with the ball at his feet.

If he can start adding goals to his game, the world is his oyster. He needs to start being more selfish in terms of running to the goal and trying to get on the end of things. He has been used to getting the ball and trying to dribble past three or four to go and score. Whereas I think his team can help him and contribute some easier goals for him. Once he starts becoming instinctive, it will add a real element of dimension to his game.

Is there a reason for the side's success away from home?

I do not think that we change the way that we play. When you have the majority of the ball away from home, it can build anxiety in the other supporters. It can change the dynamic of the game a little bit and the mentality of the opposition team.

I do not know what it would be down too really. I don’t think you can ever point to one thing in football. We have had some tough games at home for sure and in tough moments as well on either side of the international break. Leicester City and Ipswich Town were really difficult at home.

For us, it is a real positive that we can go away from home and be the team that we want to be. At least to try hard to be the team that we want to be, to be dominant, to be aggressive, and to come out on the right side of the results. We will need that, so it has to be the same mentality this weekend.

We are excited about the game. I think that people are generally looking forward to our games when they come now. They are all different challenges. This one will be different again to what we faced at the weekend. I am excited about it.