Russell Martin sets out demand for rest of Southampton season

Saints only registered two shots at Ewood Park and frustrated Martin with their lack of "energy and running."

His calls for improvement were answered in Southampton's 2-1 win over Coventry on Tuesday night and were reiterated ahead of hosting Watford.

"It's been really simple and clear," Martin said on Friday. "Everything we looked for before the game and re-emphasised this morning was about energy and running. 

"It was all about playing and moving. I hope what we did at Blackburn was a one-off. It was the first game in a very long time that we've not seen that.

READ MORE: Will Smallbone opens up after receiving social media abuse

"The result at Ipswich wasn't because of that. The result against Middlesbrough wasn't a case of not running.

"There were some fine details. We didn't finish enough of our chances and we conceded a poor goal but it was never about running.

"Blackburn was a case of that and I don't ever want to see that again."

Saturday's game will be Southampton's fourth meeting with Watford this season, having also played them twice in the FA Cup.

French coach Valérien Ismaël was in charge for the first three games, but it is Tom Cleverly who now sits in the dugout.

Martin does not think Southampton's previous meetings with the Hornets will have any bearing on this weekend's game.

Russell Martin (Image: Stuart Martin)

"Tom has done a brilliant job. I've been in his position, going from player to manager. I really enjoyed their performance on Wednesday," he added.

"I thought they were good. I watched the game. They played free with the ball and had a lot of energy. They are playing for Tom.

"They look like they're enjoying themselves. I think they have a bit of freedom with their position in the table.

"People say there's not much to play for but actually teams can be really dangerous when that is the case because they play a bit more relaxed. 

"Maybe they can be a bit braver than they might be at certain times. They looked up for the fight on Wednesday night against a team (Ipswich) who were playing to go top of the league.

"They fight. They are willing to run for each other. I'm pretty sure he saw a lot that he liked and I'm sure they feel they can build on it but we're at home.

He continued: "Those games against them earlier in the season don't matter one jot. The context is different now.

"This will be a very different game. We had one good result and two frustrating ones against them previously. It's going to be a tough game. We know that. They all are at this stage of the season."