Every word Martin said ahead of Southampton's visit to Birmingham City

How important is this week and the factor of an extended international break?

RM: They are all big now. We want to go into that break in a good place and feeling good about things. 

We have a lot of guys that will go away on international duty and we want to feel good about the run-in. 

After that international break, that is it - there will be no respite and no break, it will be full-on.

It is so exciting but we are already working on how best to use that international break.

There will be rest needed for some of them after 11 games in 35 days, and for ourselves as well.

It's also a brilliant time to get some work in on the training pitch ahead of the last nine games so we will try to utilise it. 

If we can go into the break with a big week this week then it will help everything in that preparation period. 

It has been relentless and it will carry on being relentless this week but I am really excited about this team and feel really alive after Wednesday night.

How is Kyle Walker-Peters?

RM: He won't be very long out, tomorrow will be a stretch I think.

But it was really good news with Kyle. He will hopefully be involved in one of the two after that or both. 

If not, he will definitely be back after the break so it was fairly positive news.

Good to give James Bree some minutes on Wednesday then? 

RM: I thought he was excellent. I really enjoyed his performance especially because he has been out for quite some time. 

To do that at Anfield the way he did on his first proper game back was brilliant. I am so delighted with all of them really.

The only disappointing thing was the result because I felt even better about the performance after watching it back twice. 

There were some moments of courage and belief in what they were doing that were really amazing. 

If we can carry that forward in the next however many weeks then it is going to be an exciting end. 

It is interesting how people perceive that courage, it looks great but everyone panics when something goes wrong - the players don't worry about the noise?

RM: It's the hardest thing. I wish I had a chance to do that anywhere let alone a place like Anfield. 

I didn't have the chance to take on that amount of courage so I will never take that for granted. 

The reward and the feeling the players get when it works on the pitch tops the perceived risk and anything. 

If you can win in that way, I think it's the best way. You come off the pitch thinking you deserved to win and earned the right. 

We have a group of players who believe so much in what they are doing and they perform with so much courage and intensity. 

That is all I can ask. The level of love and care they show for each other is incredible but guess what - it won't always work.

That is life and that is football. I wasn't good enough so managers weren't prepared to put their neck on the line for me. 

It does depend on how you see the game and there is no right or wrong way to play.

For us, this is our way and the right way because we can stand on the sideline and enjoy watching and feeling connected to the team.

We understand how much work it takes tactically of course but the level of feeling and courage it takes is a testament to the players and us. 

When it doesn't go right, it can look messy or whatever - but when you put the forward quickly or try and control the game without the ball it can look messy too.

There are positives and negatives but for us, a positive is that we have a team that can go to Anfield and perform like that. 

We had so many moments and the only frustration is that we didn't score when we should have. 

I want to be in this job for as long as I possibly can and I want to enjoy the team sitting on the sideline biting my fingernails. 

Does the Liverpool game give the players a minimum level now?

RM: Before the Huddersfield game, we were at that point pretty much every game.

The guys were facing an aggressive press and dealing with it amazingly well. Then we got into second and it changed.

There was a bit more tension. We can all really learn from that. At that point, the tendency is to overthink and go a bit more tactical and analyse things.

We have stripped it right back now and that is the best thing for the players and for us. 

For eight months, they have been battered with details, positions and solutions to facing different things.

They know it so they don't have to overthink it. Obviously, at half-time we show them one or two things and before the game we prepare them for what's coming. 

Now, it is really down to two things - be really brave all the time and run really hard for each other on the ball and off the ball. 

They played with connection and feeling on Wednesday and we need to keep that going. 

Are Birmingham City a tough team to play at St Andrew's?

RM: It’s always a tough place to go. It’s a bit of a cliché but they have such a good manager and (Tony Mowbray) is such a good guy.

Whenever I’ve played against him, you see the players enjoy what they’re doing, and they run hard. Mark (Venus) has been with him for however many years but it’s a long time.

I’m sure they are fighting hard because no one wants to see that happen to a good person, so they’ll be desperately trying hard for him so when he comes back to the club, it’s in a really good place.

Mark is very capable. Meeting him after the games, he’s a real football man. He’s been around it for so long, so they are working hard for each other.

You can see that they run hard. They’re difficult to play against, and they’re really committed in their press so it’s going to be an interesting game.

I think the challenge for us now is to try and turn the game into what we want it to be as early as possible in the game wherever we go.

We were aware of West Brom’s form when we went there. Birmingham is similar in the way they have been at home recently.

If we can produce the level of performance, we did against West Brom and on Wednesday night then I’ll be more than happy.