Russell Martin will know he has his work cut out if he is to keep Southampton in the Premier League this season.
Southampton have started their return to the top flight with just one point from seven matches and are currently 19th in the Premier League.
Russell Martin is starting to come under pressure despite the early stage of the season we find ourselves at, with Southampton winless in the league and their only point coming at home to fellow newly-promoted side Ipswich Town.
The next block of fixtures are likely to decide Martin‘s fate and will have a big say on Southampton’s survival chances, starting at home to Leicester City on Saturday.
Tony Cascarino believes Southampton will be relegated
It is fair to say Martin has had his fair share of critics since Southampton were promoted last season.
Many have criticised Martin’s possession-based tactics and lamented the 38-year-old manager as naive for his reluctance to deviate from such tactics at the top level.
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Tony Cascarino thinks it will be a real struggle for Southampton to survive this season, and revealed on TalkSPORT on Saturday morning that he thinks they will have it the ‘toughest’ of any side this season.
Cascarino said: “I think the toughest will be for Southampton because they are a promoted club, they have stayed with the way they have played.
“I just think they are lacking goals, and they will concede. I just think they will make mistakes.”
Southampton must improve defensively
Given the evidence we have seen so far this season, it is difficult to disagree with Cascarino.
Martin will have been working hard on the Staplewood training pitch with his Southampton players over the international break and supporters will hope that results in improvements on the pitch.
Scoring has been a struggle – with the Saints netting just four goals – but the biggest issue has been at the back as Southampton have conceded 15 goals in seven Premier League matches.
It is clear that this is not sustainable if Martin is to turn the club’s fortunes around and the most frustrating part is that a high proportion of these goals have come from mistakes whilst trying to play out from the back.
Martin must find a happy medium between implementing his style whilst ensuring Southampton are not gifting opponents goals or it could be a very bleak season.