Carragher says Martin will be really hurt after Bournemouth interview

Martin, speaking after the 3-1 defeat at AFC Bournemouth in front of the Sky Sports cameras on Monday, lambasted his side's performance.

He claimed he "did not recognise" his team during a first half which saw Saints drown as they went 3-0 down to their New Forest neighbours.

Saints visit title-chasers Arsenal and Man City in their next three Premier League matches, with the fixtures sandwiching a home tie with Leicester City.

Leicester and Saints are both among the five teams without a win from their first six and Carragher pointed out the magnitude of that clash. 

He told Monday Night Football: "There are certain games when you come up or you are down the bottom that are six-pointers and that you identify to focus on.

Russell Martin's side visit Emirates on Saturday winless (Image: Richard Crease) "No manager will ever say they will go into a game and write it off, but there will be an element where you don’t want to go to Man City or Arsenal and lose by a lot of goals.

"You want to be as competitive as you possibly can but that Leicester game you have to identify as an opportunity to go and get three points.

"The problem is, it’s also a game Leicester will have identified to get three points. Russell Martin said something interesting after Bournemouth.

"I think as a manager, we have spoken about styles and a contrasting style with Bournemouth, but when a manager says he didn’t recognise his team that will really hurt him."

Saints take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, having already matched their worst-ever start to a league season with one point from six.