After picking the same outfield 10 players in the first 3 Premier League games of the season, Russell Martin mixed and matched in the next 4, so with the 5th being the relegation fight with Leicester City, what will be in his mind.

Trying to call the starting XI against Leicester City will be tough, Russell martin was quite predictable in his early season team selections, but since that opening trio it has been a case of chopping and changing as the manager tries to find a winning formula.

Players have suddenly come in from the cold after being totally ignored in the opening games, such as Ryan Manning & Tall Paul Onuachu who both came into the squad at Arsenal, whilst others have suddenly been omitted after reasonable performances.

The truth is the only person who seem to know what how the team is going to line up is the manager himself.

That doesn't augur well and results have been the proof of the pudding, after our only point of the season, the home draw with Ipswich that came within 2 minutes of a win, came the debacle at Bournemouth only days later.

It seems the manager doesn't seem to know his best team and is desperately trying to find the winning formula.

Of course the players have to take some blame, but they are not being helped by the constant tinkering, they are not getting any sort of consistency in either the team selections of the tactics.

We have the highest number of errors leading to goals, than any other team in the Premier League and that was the case at Arsenal where the Gunners knew exactly how to play us, sitting back and then a quick press, leading to all three goals being avoidable.

So where does Russell Martin go with his team selection on Saturday ?

That is a big question, most would say that surely he has to adjust his tactics to account for the players that he has to hand and that so far has been his real failing this season, good managers get the best from the limitations of their team, they don't ask them to do things that are above their ability, but that has not been the case for Martin, he is asking players to keep playing possession football whatever the situation.

If he gave them more leeway then you feel that many of the goals conceded would have been avoided and that might well have seen us with 3 or 4 more points.

I have read on this site that Russell Martin is a visionary manager, that he will become a top manager in the Premier League, I don't necessarily disagree with that, but he won't become that at Southampton, especially if he keeps playing the possession football game to the max.

Comparisons can be drawn with Mauricio Pochettino, at Saints he made the best of the squad he had and got them to 8th, since then he has become a top manager, the reason for that is that he had better players.

He was noticed because he got the best from his squad at St Mary's by adjusting his tactics to the players he had, but Russell Martin is not doing that, he has been too rigid.

I had hoped that he might have learnt from the end of last season, then he had to adjust as Alex McCarthy could not play with his feet, but as was shown at Newcastle on the opening day, he was back to his demand for possession football to the extreme.

I have nothing against Russell Martin, I have never met him but I suspect that he is a thoroughly decent man, but then again so are many football managers who end up getting relegated.

I truly hope that on Saturday we beat Leicester and he is in charge for the following game, but there is a line that needs to be drawn and we are fast approaching it.

If we lose to Leicester and he is sacked, then no one can say that he was hounded out and wasn't given a chance, to be honest the Southampton supporters have stuck with him, there have been no real chants of Martin Out or a few individuals aside, much abuse on social media.

I have been accused of gunning for him this season, but truthfully for the first 4-5 games I stuck up for him as others moaned, likewise last season, when as the phrase "Tippy Tappy" football was used, I backed him.

But football is a results business, 1 point from 7 games is poor, if it turns into 1 from 8 then I would suggest that few managers at other clubs would survive as long as Russell.

It would not be so bad if we could say we have been unlucky, but in the main we haven't been, we have been wasteful and error strewn in every game, it is turning into a losing mentality and something has to change.

There are only two outcomes, one is that we change our tactics, the other is we change our manager, the one thing that most agree on whether they be Saints supporters or pundits, is that we are not good enough to play this type of football in the Premier League

Photo: Action Images

WanderingSaint added 15:50 - Oct 15 Give it a rest!
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Bowlercow added 15:56 - Oct 15 A reliable source has told me:- Someone close to the club has told me:- A trusted journalist has told me:- Choose one of the above as a prefix to this story Man UTD will not sak Ten Hag until Saints have sacked Martin because Jason Wilcox wants to renew their bromance by taking him to Old Trafford You don't have to be a qualified brain surgeon to know that Russell Martin's job is on the line along with three or four other PL managers but don't keep publishing your thoughts about it as if you are in the know When/if it happens they will all claim that it is as reported by them They have as much chance of knowing as I do in my story above

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saintmark1976 added 17:20 - Oct 15 “ to be honest the Southampton supporters have stuck with him”. That’s because most of us now realise that because of the poor quality squad assembled by Sports Republic there is no manager who can keep us in The Premiership this season.
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wessexman added 11:04 - Oct 16 Leicester, Wolves and Everton are games which he has surely targetted. Man City is a free hit where I suggest keeping the goal difference down is paramount. SR appointed Nathan Jones knowing we were playing 7 or 8 games mainly against teams around us. This turned out to be a huge disaster and consequent relegation. The next 4 games are now the same. I have no insight in SR's thinking but, by leaving RM in charge for these games is more or less an admission they have no clear plan (was there ever one?) and are hoping for the best. All we can hope is that RM has used this international break to adopt a huge dose of pragmatism. His arrogance and pig headedness are grating beyond measure.

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davidargyll added 15:28 - Oct 16 Bowlercow, I hate to tell you that my source too is impeccable! You can believe it or not as you like but I happen to know that RM has been told indirectly he either changes tactics or he is on his way. The owner has invested a huge amount of money in the club and will not sanction being relegated. When I first heard this it was before the Arsenal game I thought RM would be gone after it. Well so be he’s still around, and I have no further information but if we lose against the Foxes or even get away with a draw, I cannot see Dragan Solak being giving him any more time. The end is nigh and I reckon an increasing number of supporters are of the same opinion.

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Monksway added 16:46 - Oct 16 I think Saints have probably committed to RM for the next four PL games. Three of which must be won if he is to keep his job beyond the final international break.
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