SAINTS boss Russell Martin "enjoyed" what he saw from Ryan Manning on Wednesday evening as the left-back was trialled in midfield.

The defender played in holding midfield as Shea Charles was pushed further forward and Charly Alcaraz played as the number eight.

Manning's new role comes following a summer transfer window that has so far seen Saints add two new left-backs.

Charlie Taylor, 30, has joined on a free transfer from Burnley while Brazilian Wellington, 23, will join from Sao Paulo in January.

They also have Juan Larios, 20, who could play a role this season when he recovers from a bout of injuries that have kept him out since 2022.

The Irish international did well in the unfamiliar role. He looked to drop deep to offer support when playing out from the back and aimed to join the attack.

He played a nice ball over the Oxford United defence to set Charly Alcaraz through on goal, but the Argentine was beaten to the ball by the goalkeeper.

Manning described playing in midfield as "nostalgic" having started his career at QPR in the middle of the park.

Martin was pleased with what he saw from the 28 year old, who he previously tried as a centre-back at Swansea City.

Speaking to the Daily Echo, Martin said: "I just wanted him to go there so we could see Shea Charles a bit higher up.

"He understands it very, very well. At the moment, if Flynn gets injured, we have Shea Charles. But that's it.

"So if Shea was then injured - I saw a lot of good stuff from Ryan. I really enjoyed his performance, actually.

"Him and Sam Amo-Ameyaw were probably the two better ones in the first half. But yeah, we are just trying to be flexible in pre-season and work on a few things.

"Maybe look at a few options. We know what he can do at left back, left wing back. Now it's about learning some other stuff."