Southampton manager Martin says he will 'live and die by sword'

The boss was relaxed but defiant after his side were beaten 3-1 by Brentford for a third successive defeat in the Premier League.

Saints have conceded five goals in those matches, with four coming from mistakes in possession and the fifth courtesy of a Brentford set-piece.

Martin was asked by reporters whether he feels his side can compete in the top division, whilst committing to playing through the opposition press.

He responded: "Until we cut out the mistakes, of course, that will be the narrative. But since I've been here in the last year, the reward outweighs the risk.

Saints manager Russell Martin needs his side to bounce back from three defeats (Image: PA)

"It certainly did last season. We need to make sure that it does this season because we scored some incredible goals last year.

"When you play this way in this league, in this country, when you have brilliant moments no-one really wants to talk about it.

"When you make a mistake this way, everyone wants to talk about it. That's the context of what is normal and acceptable for British football, I guess.

"Also for a young British manager, I really feel that. Because if I'm not English, or apparently Scottish, I think it gets questioned way, way less."

Martin added: "We're going to stick with what we're doing. In five years of my career, it's got me this far.

"I will live and die by the sword, I know that, but I'd much rather do it this way and actually enjoy some of the moments the team gives me.

"Of course, it hurts me when we have the mistakes we have today but it's my job to fix that. It's the job of the coach, parent, teacher. It's all the same.

"Work out what the problems are and find solutions. The problem isn't that we want to do it in that way. So much of it is not tactical.

"It's about feeling and at the minute we're feeling a little bit tense in certain actions and being punished for that. It's my job to make them stop feeling that."

Russell Martin admits he would start today with different personnel if he could go back, but says the players he started has "built so much credit".

Added he does not know what the team will look like for Man United but that it will be different. More quotes to come.#SaintsFC

— Alfie House (@AlfieHouseEcho) August 31, 2024

Martin was asked how he would be able to ensure the team kept playing effectively under increased pressure, with the defeats mounting up.

"I think we've got enough evidence to show the players some of the stuff," he insisted.

"In the first half, we had a move that ended up with Adam Armstrong, which should have been one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

"Some of the chances we have come from the build-up. The players do some incredible things but we get punished for two.

"It's about weighing up the evidence and showing them. It's not just my feeling. It's not a subjective thing," Martin continued.

"Objectively, we have some brilliant moments of breaking the press and really hurting Brentford. It just needs to come to more."