SAINTS boss Russell Martin admitted he has a "lot of respect" for Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca before hosting his side at St Mary's on Wednesday. 

Martin believes Southampton are capable of imposing themselves on Chelsea despite the difficult challenge they pose.

Southampton were twice beaten heavily by Maresca's Leicester City last season - the Foxes winning 4-1 at St Mary's and 5-0 at home.

Chelsea are unbeaten in five Premier League games and climbed up to third in the table with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa on Sunday.

"I think Enzo's done a great job," Martin said when previewing the game. "I've got a lot of respect for him and what he did at Leicester last season.

"I'm really pleased for him that a club as big as Chelsea has recognised the work he did in the Championship and given him the credit because they were brilliant.

"I think sometimes the hardest thing for a coach to do is to take another team and make it his own and look very similar in such quick time, which he's done.

Southampton manager Russell Martin knows both he and Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca face very different challenges.Southampton manager Russell Martin knows both he and Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca face very different challenges. (Image: Mike Egerton/PA Wire) "He has a really talented group of players, for sure, but he's managed to get them to buy into his way of doing things his way of working and his way of playing.

"They are really starting to click into gear and to get into flow a bit. Against Aston Villa on the weekend, they were excellent, really outstanding.

"They have some top players but it's how you get them players on the ball and in the areas where you want to. They can do their stuff and they do it regularly.

"We have to be aware of it. We have an understanding of what his team likes to do from last season. Now he's doing it with really high-level players.

"I think that's been the toughest challenge at that club over the last couple of years, is to get them to really buy into one thing.

"He seems to have done with players who were bought for different things so it's big credit to him and it'll be a tough game for us."

Chelsea's high-pressing style could pose problems for Saints and their possession-focused build-up play.

Martin admitted previous games against AFC Bournemouth, Brighton and Brentford will serve as preparation before insisting every game is different. 

"I think Bournemouth are incredible at it, it's very much what they're built on. Chelsea's very different because they want to dominate the ball with Enzo.

"Then press you in a different way when they've got a lot of people around the ball in a similar way as Brighton the other night, so I think every team is different.

"I think you can take things from every game in every phase of the game, when you have the ball, when you're without the ball, when you transition.

"I think we're really aware of the challenge and hopefully, they'll appreciate that we try and play in a certain way and respect that as well."

Asked if he needs to surprise the Chelsea boss having faced him twice last season, Martin said: "They played us early on and it was probably a good time to play us at our place.

"Then it was probably a really bad time to play them at their place. We'd had a really difficult result at the weekend and they were in such a good place, very close to winning the league. 

"They would have learnt a bit about us for sure but also I think his challenge is different now. He has very different players. Our challenge is different now.

"I think the context of the game is different. We do things a bit differently this year than we did last year. 

"I think it's going to be an exciting game and I think one we can definitely try and impose ourselves on. They'll be thinking exactly the same."