Southampton manager, Russell Martin has admitted there is a lack of leaders in his squad which is filled with introverts.
Martin was hired over the summer and appeared to have a top-class squad for the Championship.
There were several sales of key men. Nathan Tella, Mohammed Salisu, Tino Livramento and Romeo Lavia, changed the squad dynamic.
No departure will have hit harder than captain James Ward-Prowse who joined West Ham United.
Jack Stephens was named captain following his sale but suffered a calf injury, ruling him out for several weeks.
What has Russell Martin said?
The form at the beginning of this season hasn’t been good enough, anyone can see that. Could this be down to a lack of leadership?
When asked about his squad, Martin said: “We have a group that is young with quite a lot of introverts in there.
“It’s up to us to try and bring something out of them and try to create some leaders in the group.”
With that being said there is plenty of experience in the squad, and some players will need to step up.
On potential leaders, the manager said: “We know Flynn Downes can definitely do that he was ill and he’s trying to find his feet and he’s had a little injury as well.
“Jan Bednarek has the potential to be a real leader. It’s up to us to bring that out of him, I understand that as well.”
He went on to add: “Mason has a good voice. We have a few players who can really step up. Adam Armstrong, and Che Adams, they lead in their own way.”
It is clear that Martin believes in his players and will find a way to make his squad work.
On that point, he said: “We definitely need to try and bring that out of the group a little bit more in terms of demands of each other which is created in the environment.”
The form hasn’t been good enough, but there appears to be thoughts on how it can improve moving forward.