Southampton made it four defeats from four Premier League games on Saturday as Russell Martin watched his side lose 3-0 against Manchester United at St Mary’s.
Russell Martin was true to his word as he rung the changes to the Southampton XI that lost 3-1 to Brentford a fortnight ago.
That resulted in a really positive start, where Southampton were by far the better side for the opening half an hour.
Momentum swung when Cameron Archer missed a penalty won by the impressive Tyler Dibling on his full Premier League debut, with Manchester United scoring a quick-fire double in the 35th and 41st minute to go in 2-0 up at the break.
A poor second-half from Southampton culminated in a red card for captain Jack Stephens for a reckless challenge on Alejandro Garnacho before the Argentine compounded the Saints’ misery by adding a third goal on 96 minutes.
Will Smallbone not in Southampton squad for Man Utd defeat
Martin made four changes in personnel to the Southampton side that started against Brentford prior to the international break as well as changing formation to a 4-3-3 from the 3-5-2 in which the Saints had played in all three league games so far.
Clearly something needed to change after three consecutive Premier League losses and Southampton looked far better for having Lesley Ugochukwu, Mateus Fernandes, Dibling and Archer come into the side.
This was a bold decision by Martin, with key players from last season dropping out the side in Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Will Smallbone, Joe Aribo and Adam Armstrong.
Smallbone was not even named in the match-day squad in a move that shocked Southampton fans, but Martin explained post-match the reason for his absence.
Martin told the Daily Echo that Ross Stewart returned to the squad earlier than planned as Smallbone returned from international duty with a slight issue, saying: “He maybe wouldn’t have been on the bench as we were going to wait until Tuesday but Will Smallbone picked up a little bit of an injury away with Ireland.”
Smallbone unlikely to have started for Southampton against Man Utd regardless of injury
Smallbone played an important role as Southampton earned promotion last season, scoring seven and assisting another four in 46 Championship games.
However, the 24-year-old was one of the players many had question marks around their ability to make the step top to the Premier League and he has struggled so far.
Martin is a big fan of the midfielder, labelling him an “outstanding footballer” early last season, but his performances so far could well have meant he dropped out of the side for United even if he had been fit.
The midfield trio of Flynn Downes, Ugochukwu and Fernandes was one that looked well-balanced as Southampton impressed in the first 30 minutes on Saturday but fatigue perhaps set in as the game went on.
Next up for Southampton is a trip to Everton in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday where Martin is expected to heavily rotate his side once more.