EVERY word manager Russell Martin said following his side's 3-1 defeat at AFC Bournemouth as Saints remain winless in the Premier League.

It was a tough watch in the first half, were you tempted to change things earlier?

RM: Yeah, maybe. Maybe. I think it surprised me, I was a little bit hurt by the response to conceding we started the game so well. 

Maybe after two goals, maybe I should have changed it but maybe I had just too much trust in the guys out there that we'd get through that.

We made changes at half-time and we were much better in the second half but whatever personality you have on the pitch, whatever way you play... 

If you lack the fight and aggression and spirit and togetherness and courage that we lacked in the first half, you're going to have a big, big problem. 

After starting well, the first setback, literally the first setback we have in the game is score. We spoke about Bournemouth taking quick set plays.

I feel we prepared the team in a way to understand the opposition's threats and strengths. But obviously I haven't given the team enough in terms of mentality.

That really hurts me because I think they are traits as a human being have got me this far, so far, but the team hasn't got it tonight. So that's my fault. 

I'm coming off the pitch at the end of the game and I thank them for running and fighting in the second half and actually, I don't think you should ever thank them for that.

I think that should be the bare minimum. So, but it's my fault, not theirs. Obviously, I haven't given them enough this week after I thought it was a brilliant week.

I haven't given them enough in between their ears to respond properly to a setback. And I thought we would learn that after Man United. We spoke about it. 

We didn't have another setback against Ipswich. And what happens in the first half is the guys are so anxious because they know we should have more points.

Then, the anxiety takes over again in the first half because we put ourselves in a situation that is almost impossible to come back from in the Premier League. 

It's ridiculous. Then that takes over and then they go into self-preservation mode and I hate that. I hate that from our team. They don't look after each other.

With the ball, they just dump the ball on each other. They start throwing their arms at each other. I'll never accept that, ever. And that's a problem.

Then a couple of guys come on and they should be playing. They should start. Joe Aribo is outstanding when he comes on. 

Ross Stewart is outstanding. Adam Lallana. They show fight. They show spirit. They show courage. They show aggression. 

But Bournemouth make 20 fouls. We make 10. I think that sums up the whole game. It's impossible if you're not going to fight.

If it's not natural for us, I need to work out a way to make sure the team has it. And we found a way to do that last season and we have to find a way again now.

After two good performances, why did you change the system?

RM: Because of the way Bournemouth are. You change and tweak but get accused of not adapting all the time. We adapted because of the opposition. 

In the first 10 minutes, we showed why. We could hurt them with certain bits and honestly, I'll look back and if I picked the wrong team, that's on me.

I obviously did. But whatever team I picked and whatever formation we played tonight, if we show that spirit and that attitude it really, really doesn't matter.

Is it possible to teach courage to players?

RM: Yeah, I think it's up to me to give them enough. As a leader of the group, it's up to me to give them enough belief in what they're doing and enough resilience.

The game is a psychological game. The difference in talent, level of coaching and all that stuff is not really that big, I don't think. The gap's small. It's my fault. 

You can definitely maybe make them more courageous in certain moments than they would be naturally.

Are you hurting more tonight than you have before because of that performance?

RM: Yeah, I'm hurting because I don't like losing. We've lost too much. But the first half, yeah, it's really surprised me and hurt me actually, yeah.

Was Adam Lallana fit enough to start the game and if he was, why didn't he?

RM: I don't know, mate. Do you want to go through every player and we'll talk about the selection?

I asked about Adam Lallana specifically.

RM: If he was fit and firing and ready to play after his performance against Ipswich, I think he would have played. Do you agree?

Well, you're the manager.

RM: Well, I'm telling you he would have played.

What's the thinking behind starting no strikers and naming five on the bench?

RM: We wanted an aggressive bench. We need to win, we need to score more goals. We haven't scored enough goals. I mean, that was pretty self-explanatory.