Russell Martin will be reflecting on a dismal Southampton performance on Monday night as AFC Bournemouth were 3-1 winners at the Vitality Stadium.
Southampton fans were hopeful of seeing their side get a first Premier League win of the season going into the south coast clash but were left extremely disappointed.
First-half goals from Evanilson, Dango Ouattara and Antoine Semenyo effectively wrapped up the win for Bournemouth before a second-half Taylor Harwood-Bellis goal proved to be little more than a consolation.
It was a much-improved second 45 minutes for Southampton, although to say it was a low bar would be a huge understatement.
Russell Martin apologises to Southampton fans after Bournemouth defeat
Whilst neither set of supporters consider the fixture a derby, there were still south coast bragging rights at stake at the Vitality.
Bournemouth’s emphatic victory means that it is fans of the Cherries who boast those bragging rights as Southampton put in a really concerning performance.
Bizarrely, Russell Martin decided to play without a recognised striker against Bournemouth but named five centre-forwards on the bench in a decision which raised eyebrows amongst the Saints faithful.
Clearly it did not work and Martin seemed to sheepishly accept this as he acknowledged the travelling Southampton supporters with a brief apology following the full-time whistle.
Martin got Southampton tactics wrong against Bournemouth
The game against Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth was always going to represent a clash of styles as Martin’s possession focus met Iraola’s out of possession approach.
It was Bournemouth’s style that bore fruit, as Martin got his tactics badly wrong on Monday night.
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Martin set Southampton up in a 4-4-2 formation with two false nines in the shape of Tyler Dibling and Mateus Fernandes.
Dibling and Fernandes are two of Southampton’s most creative players and yet this ploy meant they were almost complete passengers in the game and the Saints lacked any focal point without a recognised striker.
Ryan Fraser starting at this level is a worry too and Martin’s insistence on playing the winger could be one of his downfalls.
Next up for Southampton is a trip to title-contenders Arsenal so Martin needs to put things right quickly or it could get messy in North London.