In his first season as manager, Martin, 38, led the Saints to promotion last year after defeating Leeds United in the Wembley play-off final. However, Southampton’s 13th league loss out of 16 games this season came against Spurs.
Despite having a league-low 11 goals this season, the St. Mary’s team has only triumphed once, against Everton in November. “Going into the start of the season, we all knew the challenges that we would face this year as we readjusted to life in the top flight, competing in the best and most competitive league in the world,” stated a statement from Southampton.
But the truth about our predicament is evident. The board has been clear and honest about our expectations and has backed Russell and his team.
In acknowledging the pressing need for improvement, we have all been in agreement.We want to use this opportunity to express our gratitude to Russell and his team for their 18 months of tireless labour and commitment to the club, both on and off the pitch.
All Southampton FC supporters will always cherish the wonderful memories of the previous campaign, particularly the victory in the May play-off final. The senior team’s first match under interim manager Simon Rusk will be a Carabao Cup quarterfinal at home against Premier League leaders Liverpool on Wednesday.
Martin was fired on the same day as Wolves, another struggling team in the top tier, fired manager Gary O’Neil. Before halftime, Southampton was behind 5-0 against Tottenham, and some of the home crowd was upset with Martin and Sport Republic, the club’s owners.
Their record in the EPL this season.
Saints’ roster has been exposed in the Premier League due to their leaky defence and lack of goals, even though they made nine permanent additions in the summer. At this point in a Premier League season, no team has ever finished with five points or less and escaped relegation.
- Only four teams have had a worse goal difference after 16 Premier League matches of a campaign than Southampton’s -25
- Southampton have had more errors leading to goals than anyone else this season (10) and more mistakes leading to shots than any other side (26)
- Saints have faced 108 shots on target this season – the most in the Premier League
