PRESS conferences are much more valuable for us than managers, but Russell Martin's post-match revelations have often been watershed moments.

While - sometimes fairly - accused of being a football ideologue, Martin's observations about his team's tactical weaknesses usually precede action.

After defeat to Stoke City ahead of the play-offs last season, Martin said: "The team that plays from now on will be one I think wants to fight for their teammates."

Four months later, Martin insisted he was "too loyal" to some of those play-off winners following three consecutive Premier League defeats.

Three games later, when Saints still had not won with a new-look side but were battered at AFC Bournemouth, Martin flip-flopped on that "loyalty" again.

Since then, the likes of Ryan Manning and Joe Aribo have been re-integrated into a system that more closely resembles that of the play-off winners.

The point of this rambling opener is to introduce the prospect that Martin's press conference in the wake of a 2-0 defeat at Wolves could be another moment.

The boss had admitted Cameron Archer needs more support last week but doubled down on that after his side failed to score past the league's worst defence.

Saints did have a goal ruled out incorrectly by VARSaints did have a goal ruled out incorrectly by VAR (Image: PA)

At Molineux, Martin added: "The guys at the back take all the perceived risk and show all the courage. The guys at the front have to do a bit more."

Saints did not even have a shot on target, aside from the Manning effort which was unfairly ruled out by VAR in one of two controversial decisions.

While three teams in the Premier League have conceded more goals, Saints have now scored the fewest (seven) in the division after 11 matches.

Clearly, there is a disconnect between the attack and what Martin wants from them. They did not score nearly two goals a game last season by not shooting.

When we talk about Martin's style, it is important to recognise - certainly his belief - that the build-up in the first two-thirds is a bigger positive than negative.

They have largely cut out costly errors and they enter the opposition's third more than all of their relegation rivals and even Aston Villa.

There is an argument about the opponent's defence having more time to set due to the time progression takes but Saints have shown they can break quickly. 

But between the 61st and 75th minutes at Wolves, two goals down, Saints had 85 per cent possession and did almost literally nothing with it.

They are bottom for shots on target and only ahead of Ipswich for total shots, with the Tractor Boys hitting the target with about 2.5 per cent more reliability.

Premier League shooting data (six bottom ranked clubs)Premier League shooting data (six bottom ranked clubs) (Image: SDE)

Are they not shooting enough? They have tried the fewest times from outside the box and their average shot distance is 16 yards, among the league's bottom five.

However, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher recently analysed 22-goal Brentford and how their philosophy is always to make the extra pass to maximise the chance.

Only Arsenal take the ball closer to the goal than the Bees but Thomas Frank's side are carving out quality chances. Saints are not (0.14 xG per shot to 0.10).

The first problem Saints are encountering is, obviously, whether their forwards are good enough to make the step up to the Premier League full stop.

Adam Armstrong, Paul Onuachu, Ben Brereton Diaz, Maxwel Cornet, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Ryan Fraser and Archer boast 409 Premier League appearances.

Between them, they have scored 47 goals while Cornet and Fraser are the only two in double figures. The arsenal available cannot be refreshed until January. 

So Martin needs to find a solution, and he knows the consequence of failing to do that will be losing his job for the first time in his managerial career.

He lamented a lack of "top-end speed" in his attacking options, adding: "Unless you're Man City and you can buy whoever you want, you have to give up something.

Russell Martin knows he has an attacking problem to solveRussell Martin knows he has an attacking problem to solve (Image: PA)

"You have to prioritise something and we have prioritised going after people that can handle the football, so you have to handle it even better.

"We need to free them up in the same way they do in the build-up because they're incredible at that. We have to try and find a way in the top end of the pitch."

He likely means freeing them up mentally but needs to free them up physically too, creating overloads in the opposition box to become harder to defend.

Does Martin's culture of keep-ball make the players too risk-averse in the one third of the pitch where he does wilfully permit the concession of possession?

Ipswich picked up their first win of the season on Sunday, beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 thanks to goals from Sammie Szmodics and Liam Delap.

In isolation, it is the blueprint for a smaller side punching up. Yes, it took quality with a Szmodics bicycle kick to give Kieran McKenna's side a lead.

But it takes a powerful run from Delap, who attacks a cross and creates a second ball situation that leaves Szmodics unmarked in the box.

Delap finishes the second goal from no more than a yard away, thanks to a lucky rebound between Guglielmo Vicario and Radu Dragusin.

When the former Man City youngster turned in, five Ipswich players were inside the Spurs box. Saints need to attack in a similarly aggressive manner.

How many times has a ball gone into the box with nobody there to attack it? Saints have the worst cross-success rate in the division.

"Now we have problems in the final third, we need maybe less focus now on the build-up and more in the final third for sure," Martin admitted.

Saints will probably look to add again in attack when the January window rolls around but Martin does not assume he has until then. He needs to find a fix fast.