Southampton made a plethora of summer signings but the most notable was by far and away the capture of Aaron Ramsdale.
After securing promotion to the Premier League, manager Russell Martin was hit with a major issue he had to solve quickly.
This came with first-choice Southampton goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu set to be sidelined into 2025 with an Achilles injury.
The Saints took some time to get a new name through the door at St Mary’s with backup shot-stopper Alex McCarthy making an error to hand Newcastle United a 1-0 win on the opening weekend of the 2024/25 campaign.
Southampton were working hard to secure a new number one but had their fair share of struggles, including seeing a move for Justin Bijlow fall through.
Martin eventually got his man though, with Aaron Ramsdale leaving Arsenal on deadline day to complete a £25m switch to the south coast.
What Aaron Ramsdale said about Southampton manager Russell Martin
Amid the ongoing keeper crisis, Ramsdale was thrown straight into the eleven when the Saints faced Brentford on August 31st.
The ex-Arsenal shot-stopper did not have the best debut, conceding three in a 3-1 defeat to the Bees.
However, Ramsdale still needs more time to settle at the club and has now shared an insight into what Martin wants from his players, as per the Daily Echo.
He said: “The way the staff want to play – they want to play football. I knew a lot about them from their time at Swansea and MK Dons.
“He wants to play football and keep the ball on the ground in open play. They want to create overloads. That game (play-off final) was a testament to that.
“If that is coming for crosses or through balls, that is what we are there to do. I’ve watched plenty of the manager’s team. It’s exciting football.
“The way he talks about it and the way he spoke in pre-season about ‘losing our way’ is a real breath of fresh air.”
- READ MORE: Russell Martin should take comfort from one Southampton statistic after poor start to season
Does Russell Martin need to change his style of play at Southampton
Ramsdale’s description of how Martin wants his side to play football should please fans.
However, it could well be the Southampton’s coaches’ philosophy that has cost them early in 2024/25.
At the start of every new Premier League season, there is usually at least one newly promoted side that does not change how they played in order to get promoted.
We saw this in 2023/24 when an attack-minded Burnley came up and were quickly exposed defensively thanks to them trying to play out from the back and dominate possession.
The Clarets were swiftly relegated back down to the Championship and after zero wins in three, it appears Southampton could be heading down the same path if Martin does not change something soon.