Southampton endured a disappointing night in the battle for promotion from the Championship on Tuesday.
A 2-1 defeat to Hull City at St Mary’s meant the Saints failed to take advantage of their game in hand on Leeds United.
Not only that, but with Ipswich Town claiming a 4-3 win over Rotherham United, Russell Martin has seen his side slip to 4th in the Championship table.
As a result, the pressure now looks to be on Southampton in the race for a place in the Premier League.
One man who endured a particularly difficult night on Tuesday in that defeat, was Joe Rothwell.
An early substitution for Joe Rothwell vs Hull City
The January transfer window saw Rothwell join Southampton on loan from Bournemouth for the rest of the season.
Having made that move, the midfielder was handed just his second league start for the club on Tuesday. That though, did not exactly go to plan.
Rothwell missed a big opportunity just moments into the game. After the ball fell to him on the edge of the Hull City area, the midfielder was denied by goalkeeper Ryan Allsop when in one on one.
Then with around ten minutes remaining in the first half, the Bournemouth loanee gave away possession on the edge of the Southampton area.
That allowed Fabio Carvalho to make it 2-0 to Hull, leaving Saints with a mountain to climb. Following those incidents, the 29-year-old was substituted at half-time by Martin.
Indeed, those struggles for Rothwell did not go unnoticed. Writing about his performance after the game, the Daily Echo said: “Latched onto an early gift with real purpose and should score but was denied by Ryan Allsop. All downhill from there for the Bournemouth loanee. Caught running out from the back for the second goal. Substituted at half-time with no control in the midfield.”
As a result, the midfielder received a mark of just 3/10 for his performance against Hull City.
The stats from SofaScore, also suggest Rothwell had a difficult night for Southampton. According to those reports as well, the midfielder did indeed miss one big chance, and commit an error leading to a goal.
Beyond that, he also lost possession on six occasions, giving the visitors plenty of opportunities. Rothwell also failed to win any of the three duels he contested. Meanwhile, the midfielder, who is often recognised for his attacking abilities, attempted just one dribble, which was unsuccessful.
Furthermore, he was dribbled past twice in the game. Despite being substituted at half time, he was the only Southampton player that happened to more than once.
Southampton have a Joe Rothwell selection call to make
This performance from Rothwell against Hull City will give Martin plenty to think about.
There is no doubt the midfielder is capable of being a big asset at this level. Indeed, he has already shown that for Southampton in the win over Huddersfield Town.
However, this was simply not good enough from the 29-year-old. It could therefore be a gamble for the Saints to use him again with so much at stake in the promotion race.
Indeed, Joe Aribo was excellent after being brought on to replace Rothwell at the break. The Nigerian international made a more signifcant contribution, and even got on the scoresheet.
Following the game, Martin also revealed he now believes Aribo is ready to start for Southampton again.
As a result, it may be some time before Rothwell is back in the starting lineup after this.