The tactical tweaks Martin made to mastermind West Brom victory

It was a beautiful circular moment and a reminder of the togetherness despite Tuesday's defeat at Bristol City.

This was billed as the hardest week of the season so far but most would have tipped West Brom to be the tougher test.

Ryan Fraser and substitute David Brooks scored the goals to put Saints back into second in the table for that evening only.

Carlos Corberan's Baggies won their last five league fixtures at home, conceding one - their home defence record is the league's second-best.

The hosts were not helped by the dismissal of their boss in the sixth minute, leaving him directing proceedings from his office (Image: PA)

Russell Martin had less than 72 hours to turn his team around from their first loss in any competition since September.

Despite this, the boss and his coaching staff found the time to devise several subtle tactical tweaks that allowed Saints to bounce back.

It was not just a response to losing, as Martin explained: "Carlos is a fantastic coach and we wanted to change something.

"They would have watched the last few games and analysed it and they are fantastic at doing that."

The most obvious change Martin made was to facilitate the reintroduction of captain Jack Stephens. 

Saints had not conceded twice in a single league fixture since October before shipping six goals in their last two. 

Stephens played on the left of a back four which shifted into a three in the build-up with possession. 

Southampton defended in a standard back four (Image: EFL)

The defence converted to a three in build-up (Image: EFL)

The skipper's starting position was deeper than typically that of Ryan Manning, who was left on the bench by the boss. 

Part of the reason for Martin's decision was down to him identifying West Brom have pressed opposition defences as a two.

The addition of Stephens turned it into a three versus two when playing out the back, making possession safer and opening up the field. 

Apart from 10 minutes before half-time, in which Stephens was caught behind a few times and was lucky to not concede a penalty, he was excellent.

Saints were over-exposed down the wings on the way to their first defeat of 2024 at Ashton Gate this week. 

Fraser's selection meant Sam Edozie, who has the technical abilities to beat his man in tight spaces and showed it, felt unlucky to be benched.

The experienced Scot could be trusted - and has the engine - to cover when needed, his elevation matching Kyle Walker-Peters as Saints played out. 

On the other side of the pitch, Shea Charles, as seen in his average position, was given a different role to Tuesday.

Average positions of Southampton's starters versus Bristol City and West Brom (Image: Stats Perform)

He was hooked at half-time playing as the six but this time hugged the right of the pitch playing behind the expansive Walker-Peters. 

The 20 year old helped limit West Brom's left side to a combined four touches inside the Saints box. 

The opening goal itself was one straight off the training ground - Armstrong's inch-perfect cross into Fraser at the back-post from a short corner. 

It strongly resembles a goal scored by Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes last week, against Nottingham Forest.

Russell Martin must have been watching the Newcastle game last weekend 👀#SaintsFC pic.twitter.com/dNJbDzCsWv

— JustSaints (@JustSaints_) February 16, 2024

"I presume Gilly watched Newcastle and liked it," Martin joked. "It's amazing when it comes off and it does for us thanks to a bit of quality."

The final tweak was the recall of Sekou Mara as the nine, closer resembling a Che Adams-style forward. 

As also seen in the average positions, the Frenchman would come into midfield with back-to-goal and the two Armstrongs playing off him. 

With everything in mind, Martin concluded: "All of that is pointless if the lads are not brave enough and the aggression was through the roof compared to Tuesday."

It also helps when you have that bench, with Saints able to claw back control of the contest before West Brom could punish them.

Edozie, Joe Aribo and Brooks all contributed to the second goal and to Southampton managing 80.7 per cent possession between the 60th-75th minute.

David Brooks scored his first for the club to seal all three points (Image: PA)

Saints had only just over 50 per cent of the ball in the previous 15 minutes and less than 40 for the period before half-time.

After a difficult week on the road, Saints will now be welcomed home as heroes for successive St Mary's matches. 

And with just 14 games of the Championship campaign left, Saints had to find an immediate response to their setback - and did.