Southampton manager Russell Martin has said that ‘within the constraints we had’, he is happy with the Saints’ summer transfer window.
Martin joined the club from Swansea early in the summer and made eight signings before the window closed just over a month ago.
They only paid transfer fees for two of the eight players, however, bringing in Ross Stewart from Sunderland and Shea Charles from Manchester City for undisclosed fees.
Saints’ CEO Phil Parsons opened up on the club’s finances last week and said that the club had to monitor how much they spent.
Martin praises club for not gambling
Martin praised the fact the club didn’t ‘gamble’ like other relegated teams have done in the past.
Asked if he was satisfied with his signings made in the summer, Martin told the Daily Echo: “I think so, within the constraints we had. A lot of teams gamble when they come down and you can get lucky.
“If you don’t, it can lead to a lot of problems down the road. The owners have made the decision not to gamble the club and I think it’s the right thing completely.
“That’s where you have to balance the long-term and the short-term but I think the business we have done has been great with what we had.
“The ownership were so honest with us all the way through and it became clearer and clearer what we would have to work with as it went on.”
Martin added: “We had been paying a little bit for doing a lot late, and I think they understand that as well. It’s not a criticism of anyone but it’s a fact of what went on.
“You knew some players would go but I think a couple probably went you didn’t expect to, and you don’t know what money is going to come in for certain players.
“It was such a difficult window for the club and hopefully the most difficult window we have to endure. Now, it’s about getting everyone up to speed.
“We haven’t had that much time on the training pitch since we got everyone together really. Sunderland was the first game after the window and that went disastrously.
“It’s been a nice week this week to get everyone together and to understand what’s required to get through this period. We’ll be so much stronger after this period.”