Every word Southampton manager Martin said ahead of Blackburn Rovers

How is the squad fitness?

RM: Everyone is pretty good but we are without James Bree, who is suspended. 

Stuey Armstrong is concussed so he will be out of tomorrow. He took a big whack to the head with Massimo Luongo. 

He wasn't feeling great in the second half, a bit groggy. He has been assessed and we have followed the procedures.

We hope to have him back for Tuesday but he needs to pass his tests and examinations before with the doctors. 

Stuey will miss tomorrow, I haven't really seen him this week - he has come in, done his assessments and then been leaving.

We have to follow the protocol so he will be out tomorrow but we hope to have him back for Tuesday. 

You have said people have written you off, how do you cut out outside noise? 

RM: In the same we always do, we don't listen to what is being said externally just like we didn't when we were 25 games unbeaten. 

I was really bullish and felt protective of the players on Monday because I thought the performance was so good.

And then I had to calm Janny B down on the pitch because there's someone in the crowd screaming at the players to go in and do all that stuff.

And our fans were incredible. It was only one guy and a couple of them had noticed it and were upset by it because they didn't deserve that with the way that they played.

We didn't deserve the result with the way that we played. So that, and then the emotion in the dressing room after, then you feel all of that.

So then I wanted to come out and protect the players because it was a really good performance.

And then the energy in the room where you do the press conference, you're speaking with Sky and they're asking me about Jason (Wilcox) when all I want to do is talk about the game.

So when you put all of that together, there was a reason why afterwards I felt frustrated and upset. And it's only because of the care for our team.

So then you carry that care into this week and more than ever I feel protected with our players and what they're doing.

Because they're doing some amazing things. We went there for 70-odd minutes. It was so good. And we should have scored four goals. And Ipswich are a very, very good team.

So it's also not being disrespectful to them at all. Kieran (McKenna)'s a brilliant coach. They're a really good team.

But I felt we were better on the night. And after watching it back twice, I still feel that. And I think the stats would back that up as well and all the data and all that stuff.

But just on feeling, that's how I felt. And it's how I still feel. And the players did some amazing things.

They're also aware of, I think, why we didn't win the game and we didn't get something from it.

And I think if we can sort those couple of bits out that probably separate us and Ipswich at the moment, then I think it's going to be a really brilliant end to the season and a really exciting one.

I feel like we have such a good opportunity to achieve what we want to achieve still. I'm not going to allow that negativity to seep into the players and to the staff here.

We're not as a group of coaching staff because we watch them grow. We watch what they do. We watch how they train. We see the players. We speak to them.

We see them more than anyone else. And we have an appreciation of what they are doing and what they have done, and how difficult it is as well because we've been there.

So they've been fantastic. They need to keep doing what they're doing. In terms of blocking out the noise, it's been no problem.

We work really hard and we understand what's really important to help us in the next eight games.

And then we'll see where it takes us.

There is no benefit to being overly negative anyway, is there?

RM: Yeah, but there's also not a huge benefit to being overly positive all the time as well.

Let's not mix that up. We're not in here going, Oh lads, we've lost so it's going to hurt. And we're all annoyed and we're all frustrated and we're all feeling it.

So there's not this loop of positivity all the time as well. It's not that. So we're really honest with the players.

But also there's not a huge amount to be negative about. We drew against Middlesbrough and we lost against Sipswich.

My feeling is and watching the games back and looking at all the data that backs it up, we should win both games.

But we don't. We get one point out of them. That's football, that's life.

So we're not going to be in here going, but we played really well. There is some stuff to improve. 

If we keep doing some of the stuff we are doing, it's going to be really exciting. We can do what we wanted to achieve at the start of the season. So that is still there for us.

And it is going to be there for us until the very end if we really want it. And then, of course, there's some bits we need to really improve on. That's the process and that's how we work.

We have nothing but complete honesty with the players for that. So we don't come in and be overly negative because there's so much good stuff.

But we have to feel the stuff that hasn't worked out and what's hurt us is the same with any game.

We're also not going to be in here saying, you know, it's all good and we lost. It hurts. We're winners. We're in here for the same reason.

We want to win. And now we have to just keep focusing on the work and feeling everything together and make sure we come through it all together.

How do you change that? 

RM: In terms of chances given up, we've not given away any more really than we were on the run we were on.

I showed the guys in the four games that we've lost since that run the number of chances we've had, the number of chances the opposition had heavily outweighed in our favour and we haven't won.

We need to sort out both boxes basically and that's not tactical. It's not technical. It's about heart and desire and mentality and mindset.

I think we're all really clear on what's needed. I think the players understand. I think we have a really clear feeling of what's needed.

So we've had some really brilliant conversations, some deep conversations this week on these conversations.

I think everyone knows it's really clear now what's expected and if you're going to be on a pitch and you're going to play, what's expected.

And if we don't carry it out, this is football, right? It's the same with my job. If I don't do my job, I'll get sacked. And with the players, if they don't do their job, they don't play.

So I think it's really clear. And I think we have an environment full of love and care for the players. But also it needs to be really demanding.

If we haven't been quite right in both boxes for the mentality, that's my fault. It's my job to make sure we sort that out. 

What do you make of Blackburn Rovers? 

RM: The same I did when they came to our place. They play good football. They're very young, athletic, good energy.

I think they're well capable of results like they had on Saturday. I thought they were outstanding, having watched that back.

But they've had a few really brilliant performances that haven't quite translated into results. They played really well against Ipswich the week before.

We watched that on the TV and I felt they could have definitely got a result there and they didn't.

So I'm sure John's been feeling very frustrated because they're doing some really, really good things and he's a really good guy.

So I think they had a really good manager in John Dahl Thomasson who's gone and they've replaced him with a really good manager.

Greg Broughton is someone me and Gilly know from Norwich. He's a very intelligent and good person and understands what he's doing.

It's a club with a plan and they're just going through a bit of pain early on in terms of what they're trying to build. But I think they're doing some really good stuff.

As you said, they'll be desperate to get the manager's first home win. So it'll be a tough game on the back of their result.

Obviously, people will look at it on the back of ours as well. We went to Ipswich and lost. 

We were the team who want to be so brave and so aggressive for so long. And if we do that, more often than not we'll be more than okay. And that's the challenge.

That's the challenge, to be the team we want to be wherever we go. And it's another challenge on Saturday. And it's a really, really exciting one.

What is the latest with Jason Wilcox and has it affected the club?

RM: Being brutally honest, the one person it affects the most is me. And my coaching staff, because he brought us here.

Has it affected the players? I don't think so. Jason's a great guy. We work really closely together.

I have the most conversations with him here. But I don't think it's affected the way we work. I don't think it's affected the results.

I don't think it's affected any of that, the process of what we're embarking on. But of course, you never want to see good people leave.

Especially when you've spent some time building a relationship. But I've got nothing negative to say with Jason. I think lots is going on.

It's not been clarified yet what is happening because Phil (Parsons, CEO) and the ownership group here have a job to protect our club as much as we can and Manchester United have a job to try and get the guy that they want.

If it ends up happening and Jason goes, he goes with nothing but good wishes from myself and probably everyone in here.

Because he's played such a huge part in changing the culture of the club and the feeling around the training ground.

What he does, he's enabled us and myself to be the leaders we want to be and the coaches we want to be and been so supportive. And hopefully, he felt we did a good job for him.

So, if he ends up going, which let's be honest, looks likely at this point. But I think there's still lots to do legally and all that stuff between the clubs.

But if he ends up going, honestly, I wish him nothing but the best. It's Man United. He's moved here.

You know, he lives up there. So, yeah, I've got nothing but positive things to say about Jason. I'm sure our relationship will continue beyond this.

So, yeah, that's all I have to say on it really. He's a good guy and we'll see what happens.