MANAGER Russell Martin was pleased with Saints' dominant 2-0 win over Cardiff City on Saturday, but felt they should have "scored more."

Captain Adam Armstrong fired in two quickfire goals to put Southampton ahead inside 15 minutes at St Mary's.

The hosts continued to dominate possession before Karlan Grant squandered a crucial chance to cut the deficit before the break.

Martin was left frustrated with how his side, who are now 11 games without defeat, invited Cardiff back into the game late in the first half.

He said: “I’m really happy. I thought we were good today. We started the game so well. At halftime, I went a bit crazy with the guys because the last stage of the first half wasn’t quite there.

“The energy dipped. We gave Cardiff a moment and we shouldn’t have. I told them ‘they’ll go in at half time thinking there will be a chance for them.’

"That would have lifted their mood about the first half. We had to get back on it with the energy and runs, we stopped doing that in the first half."

Southampton returned to their dominance after the break and should have added to their lead as countless chances went begging.

Che Adams did have the ball in the net but the flag was raised for offside before Joe Aribo struck the post moments after coming on. 

Fellow substitute Ryan Fraser also went close on multiple occasions as the elusive third goal evaded Saints in a dominant win.

"We should score more goals, that was the only frustration. I thought the lads were incredible in the second half," Martin continued.

"I watched with so much pride and gratitude for what they were doing. It’s been a long week so to produce that level of performance in the second half - I spoke to their manager and said he’s made that team so much better than they have been in the past two years.

"This was our third game of the week and against a team that probably felt a bit unlucky with their results.

“It wasn’t to be (scoring the third goal). Ryan Fraser has come off the pitch frustrated that he hasn’t scored. It’s not a coincidence that the chances fall to him because he runs at the goal relentlessly.

“The subs had a big impact. Joe Aribo was fantastic. He’s been frustrated not to be involved, but he has had a big impact and put himself in a good place. They need to drive each other on and impact the game with goals and assists.”