SAINTS forward Adam Armstrong admitted there was "only one place" he wanted to play last season despite Russell Martin feeling as though he might leave.

Following Southampton's play-off final win, Martin admitted that he expected Armstrong to leave the club last summer before the season got underway.

The former Newcastle man remained at St Mary's and was a driving force as Saints won promotion back to the Premier League via the play-offs.

The 27 year old hit 24 goals, including the winner at Wembley, and provided 13 assists, finishing the season with the most goal involvements in the Championship.

Responding to Martin's admission, Armstrong told the Daily Echo: "It's just the football world, you never know what is going to happen.

"When Russell came in with his staff, there was only one place I was staying and that was Southampton.

"You can see the culture that he has brought to the club. The way we play, the lads are loving it and I'm over the moon."

Adam Armstrong celebrates Southampton's promotion at St Mary'sAdam Armstrong celebrates Southampton's promotion at St Mary's (Image: PA)

Armstrong's fantastic form was rewarded with a new three-year deal, keeping him on the south coast until 2027.

"It's nice, I'm over the moon to sign and stay here for another three years," he added. "What we did last season - it was probably the best year of my life football-wise. It's unbelievable."

Armstrong scored the only goal on Saturday as Saints recorded a 1-0 victory over Millwall in a pre-season friendly at The Den.

The goal took Armstrong's pre-season tally up to three. Although he stressed that fitness is the priority in pre-season, the Geordie forward was pleased to be among the goals once again.

"It's always nice (to score) isn't it," he added. "But pre-season is all about getting minutes into the legs. I missed a game in Spain because of illness.

"It was about just getting back out there and getting minutes into the legs. It was a good run out and a good win.

"It's always good to get a clean sheet as well. The game itself, pre-season games are always quite similar. They're quite slow. It's good to put in a good performance and get a win."

Martin was in agreement about the performance but did feel Southampton lacked quality in the final third during the first half.

He was pleased to see Armstrong back among the goals, adding to his brace at Eastleigh in Southampton's first friendly.

"You look at it and he's done really, really well again. He should have scored the other night. He was annoyed with himself.

"He tried to dink the chance rather than just put it away. But, yeah, you need your strikers scoring. He's doing that and continued to do that from last season.

"We have a few things to work on and it becomes clearer and clearer what we need to work on, which is nice and we'll get time to do it."