EVERY word Saints manager Russell Martin said as he previewed his side's visit from in-form Championship rivals West Bromwich Albion... 

How has the week been?

RM: It's been really nice to get everyone out there. Everyone needs something different in a free week when some haven't played as much as others. 

Obviously, there will be a change or two to the team tomorrow. One enforced and one possibly not. 

We have tried a few different things to prepare as well as we possibly can, with the focus being on us, but West Brom are a really good team with a good coach. 

It's been a good week and the feeling is good around here at the moment. To see the players take real pride in what they're doing that can only come when the results are positive. 

I always enjoy the free weeks when we really have time to work. There's been extra work managing players who really need it and managing others who have played a lot. 

We need to finish this block of games really well, it's the last international break and then it's relentless all the way through to March.

Will Ross Stewart be involved? 

RM: He’ll be involved tomorrow. We're excited about it and the players are excited. As I have said before, the expectations early on, because of how long he's been out, shouldn’t be too big.

He’ll feel his way in with us and he's not had a huge amount of time on the grass, so this is probably his first full week of training with the team and understanding the technical detail.

He has a fantastic willingness to learn and we have had to try and rein him in rather than encourage him to do extra work. 

The physios have done some fantastic work and they have been a dream to work with for us as well.

We'll get him on the pitch at some point tomorrow possibly, possibly not, it depends on the state of the game.

But to have him back in the squad and then build him up over the international break is a nice period for us to really get some work into him so he can be a big player for us moving forward.

What are Stewart's strengths as a player?

RM: He's massive so that helps in this league. He is, first and foremost, a brilliant goalscorer.

I tried to sign him at MK Dons when I watched him at Ross County and I've joked that he's rejected me twice but now we are working together. 

He can run, he's hungry for goals, works so hard out of possession and he has a bit of everything really. For such a big guy, he moves so well. 

His injury hasn't affected that at all but he is just short of match minutes at the moment. He suits what we do and he is a very different option to what we have as well.

Technically good. Athletically good. Attitude good. When you can tick all of those boxes, you give us huge value.

How much of a headache has Jan Bednarek's suspension given you? 

RM: I'm disappointed Jan is out as he's been such a big player for us, but whenever anyone misses a game for any reason it’s an opportunity for another player.

Mason Holgate came in against Preston and did very, very well for Taylor Harwood-Bellis and if he comes back in tomorrow, whether it’s him or Shea Charles or whoever, they’ll have another opportunity to do very, very well.

I'm really confident whoever steps in will be fine. We're at a point now where I really believe if one or two need to come out we can fill that gap pretty seamlessly and smoothly.

I'm really pleased Janny B is back in the Poland squad because he was really disappointed but the progress in him in the last two months has been brilliant.

I really like him as a character. He maximises his potential every day and is a big personality, and, now that he moans a lot less, I really like what he's producing," he quipped. 

I watch him with immense gratitude and pride, the way he has come through the period we had. He was a big reason for that in such an important position. 

He has been huge for us and I don't think it goes unnoticed amongst the players, the players really understand what he does on the ball for us is not easy. He's been outstanding.

Will facing West Brom be a game of patience?

RM: It will be a different challenge from what we have faced recently. I have come up against Carlos Corberan with Huddersfield and now West Brom and he's an excellent coach.

They pose a real threat on the counterattack but scored a great team goal last time out, so they can do both sides of the game really well.

They have some top players for the level but we are at home and we are in a really good place, with a group of players who really believe and supporters starting to enjoy watching the team. 

That's the most important thing. As a manager or coach, you want to create a team your supporters are proud of and enjoy watching - as well as winning, of course. 

We hope to do all that tomorrow but we will have to be patient at times and really fast with the ball at times. 

Putting this game into context for the players is really important too because it's different to the last one, and you can try and let your players know what is coming.

But it is only really making a calculated guess because they could come up with something totally different. The players have solutions to lots of different problems.

We trust them to find new solutions and we may have to help them with some things during the game but I am really looking forward to finishing this block of games positively.