Every word Southampton manager Martin said ahead of Preston

How are Kyle Walker-Peters and Ryan Fraser?

RM: With the Leicester game being delayed until later in the season it suits Ryan Fraser because it means he will miss one game less.

We expect him or we are hopeful he will be back for the Middlesbrough game after that, all being well. If he’s not, it won’t be too long after that.

Kyle was back on the grass today which is good news. Tomorrow may come a bit too early, it probably will but we are hopeful to have him involved on Saturday.

Have you felt the excitement and buzz after Saturday’s win?

RM: It’s been a nice feeling, but it’s been like that for quite a while.

They are really focused but they have a lot of fun, I think. I hope they do. It feels like they do. We have a lot of fun with them.

I actually think the team's showing character, willingness to fight for each other, willingness to keep going, and the subs came on and had an impact again.

It will be big for us moving forward. I would rather win 2-0 of course but any game away from home is tough to win.

Someone told me we have equalled the club’s away wins in a season record. That’s amazing at any level you play at.

When we watched the performance back, the players were doing some amazing things. We must cut out the goals we conceded. That’s not good enough.

Especially for how much of the ball Birmingham had. To concede three is not good enough and we are aware of that. The players are aware of that.

They are annoyed but to score the amount of goals we scored away from home shows the amount of ball we had and the number of chances and shots.

I don’t think we should underestimate or underappreciate how good or how difficult that is.

I have got a huge amount of gratitude and pride in the players for what they are doing. So, let's cut out the other stuff and I think it’s going to be an exciting end to the season.

Are your changes at the back done in terms of the opponent or finding the right blend?

RM: It’s about getting players on the pitch that deserve to be on there.

We have three outstanding centre-halves and Jack Stephens has shown how flexible he can be on Saturday and against Millwall as well.

Against West Brom, he played left-back and was outstanding. We kept a clean sheet with all three of them on the pitch at West Brom.

Then different games require different things. Taylor Harwood-Bellis is comfortable there. Taylor had a really good game there.

Jack can play there, he played really well there against Swansea and Norwich. We have some flexibility in there.

It is not the reason we conceded three goals that Taylor’s playing there or Jack. They are all different. There is no pattern.

Jack has helped us so much with the game on Saturday, especially when he was stepping in with the ball.

If he was playing in the Premier League, we would be highlighting and giving a huge amount of praise for it.

I think it will depend on the opposition. It will depend on what we feel the game needs not so much the opposition, it’s about what we need in a certain game.

There may be games where they don’t all play together, maybe games where it looks different.

We don’t get too fixated on the formation because it’s more about the concept of the game and how it looks in certain phases.

They are only starting positions really for us. At some point when the team is in flow it looks different - as it has done.

Kyle Walker-Peters sometimes plays right-back. You’ll see him in a very different position at the start of the season, rolling in then high and wide.

It depends on the game. It depends on the personnel we have on the pitch. I was really delighted with all three of them on Saturday.

We're seeing Stephens in advanced positions so getting that blend right going forward?

RM: That will look different. It will probably look a bit different tomorrow from what it did.

Flynn’s role will change sometimes as well with what we need him to do. It’s the same with any player.

Will Smallbone, the same. We have a lot of options which is nice. It’s about finding the best solution for each game.

What Jack has done in a couple of games where we have asked him to go in there, and also left-back against West Brom, it shows the footballing intelligence he has.

The players trust him. He’s so smooth with the ball. I think we’re blessed with the centre-halves we have so it’s up to us to find the best solution to try and get them all on the pitch.

Some days they will. Some days they won’t. We will always only ever pick the best team for that game.

I was mad to take Jack out after West Brom, tried to adapt and I overthought it. He’s done brilliantly since then.

It’s up to him to stay there now and make sure he’s in the team. He’s also a huge leader.

At half-time on Saturday, my team talk was made so much easier because of what Jack had said to the boys before I had even got in there.

I was made aware of that afterward by the staff. He’s an incredible captain and he brings it out of other people, and I think that’s important.

All three of your forward scoring on Saturday is excellent?

RM: Yeah and look at the guys on our bench and how they performed at Liverpool.

Sam Edozie, Sekou Mara and Kamaldeen Sulemana. I thought they were outstanding and should have had a goal each. 

The only frustration for me in that performance was that they didn't score. They sit on the bench wondering how to get on.

They see all three guys up front score - but that's how it needs to be if you want to be a successful team. 

They all come on and all have an impact on the game. It's a huge week for us, I can pretend it's not, but it is. 

It's three games that can put us in a really good position. In an average season. two points a game would put us into the top two by some way. 

This year, it won't be enough. We have to fight for everything - we have 11 games left and we will need everyone. 

Preston are in a good run of form and unbeaten in seven - tough game? 

RM: We're meeting them at a difficult time because they are in a good place. 

I think we know what to expect, they are very physical and strong, athletic and powerful, and they are good at what they do. 

They will definitely make it hard for us and we have to play in the same way we have in the last two in terms of the build-up and how we start.

I loved the willingness to risk the ball on Saturday, to run and to create chances for each other - it felt like the team was back. 

We need to bring that again and make sure we defend in a much better way because we can't go from being difficult to score against to the recent goals. 

There needs to be a balance in the game but the challenge is to make it the game we want on our terms. 

Hopefully, you won't need Gavin Bazunu to come up and score? 

RM: Hopefully, although that was a big moment for us and our season.