Joe Rothwell made his Southampton debut in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Swanseas City as he came on for Stuart Armstrong in the 76th minute.
Rothwell was a surprise signing as midfield was not an area that Southampton were expected to target this month. Having joined the club on loan from Bournemouth on Monday it was straight into the squad on Saturday for Rothwell.
Fellow loanee Flynn Downes spoke of how he was impressed with his first look at Rothwell after training on Tuesday, but the 29-year-old struggled to make an impact on his debut having replaced Southampton’s best player on the day. The ex-Blackburn Rovers midfielder had just 13 touches, completed six passes and lost all three of his duels, as well as losing possession three times.
It is worth mentioning that Southampton were somewhat under the cosh when Rothwell came on, having been comfortable in a first half in which in-form Che Adams opened the scoring before goals from Will Smallbone and birthday boy Downes either side of a Swansea goal made it 3-1. Saints clung on to etch their place in history, beating an 123-year club record by going 20 league games unbeaten.
It would be harsh to judge Rothwell on the Swansea cameo alone and manager Russell Martin will be hoping for improvement once the player gets up to speed with his tactics.
What did Russell Martin say on Joe Rothwell?
Martin has already been clear this week that he sees Rothwell as a more attacking midfielder than Downes and Shea Charles. He has also highlighted that it will take time for Rothwell to understand what is expected of him, with Martin saying he will “fry his brain” in the coming weeks.
This means that he is instead competition for the likes of Smallbone, Saturday’s star man Stuart Armstrong, current African Cup of Nations absentee Joe Aribo and Carlos Alcaraz – the latter struggling to break into the side despite his obvious talent.
Speaking on Rothwell’s debut, Martin explained: “He will be better for that time on the pitch. We will have loads of clips that we can show him”.
“That will help him develop his understanding. I think it is good for him to get on as early as he can in his period here”.
February will be a very busy month with six league games, so the sooner Rothwell can integrate the better for all parties. Next for Southampton is a break from league action as the club travel to Watford for the FA Cup fourth round and Martin has identified this tie as a perfect opportunity for Rothwell.
Speaking about Rothwell’s role moving forward, Martin said: “He will play next week in the cup – that will be really important for him to get some minutes and understand it. Today was a chance for him to experience that and he will be better for it.”
Rothwell is an intelligent footballer and out should not take him long to demonstrate what is expected of a Martin midfielder. Once he does that, Southampton will be a better side for it.