Southampton saw their remarkable unbeaten run come to an end in somewhat emphatic fashion on Tuesday night.
After a club record 25 games unbeaten, the Saints travelled to Ashton Gate to face Bristol City. And that is where that run came to an end.
Goals from Sam Bell, Rob Dickie and Harry Cornick meant that Adam Armstrong‘s stoppage time penalty was a mere consolation for Russell Martin‘s side with the hosts claiming a 3-1 win.
Now it seems as though that has left Martin concerned about one change he has seen at Southampton over the past few days.
Southampton suddenly vulnerable defensively
While they may not have lost to Huddersfield Town on Saturday afternoon, the Saints did concede three goals in that game.
Coupled with the three they conceded at Ashton Gate on Tuesday and it is now six goals that Southampton have conceded in just two games.
In the ten games prior to these matches they had conceded just four goals. As a result, Martin is evidently concerned about how vulnerable his side have suddenly become at the back.
Speaking about their defensive issues after that defeat to Bristol City, the Southampton manager was quoted by Daily Echo reporter George Rees-Julian as saying:
“I’m disappointed with the goals. We can’t go from being so solid defensively to conceding six goals in two games – that is madness.”
Next up for Southampton is a trip to The Hawthorns to face West Brom on Friday night.
Martin must sort Saints’ backline out quickly
You can understand why this defensive situation will be such a concern for Martin.
The goals conceded at Bristol City on Wednesday were not great from a defensive point of view for Southampton.
There is therefore a risk that if that continues they will continue to concede regularly.
While they may have got away with it against Huddersfield Town, no team that ships three goals a game will win too many matches.
That heaps the pressure on Martin and Southampton to rectify this issue quickly.
Leeds United have already moved above them into 2nd in the table after their 4-0 thrashing of Swansea City on Tuesday. So if they do not rectify this issue quickly the race for automatic promotion could soon get away from the Saints.
Martin has rightly won plenty of praise for what he has done with this Southampton during their excellent recent run.
However, the way in which he gets his side to respond to this setback will be just as big a test of their credentials.
The last time they lost it was as part of a run of four straight defeats. That is not a scenario Southampton can afford to find themselves in again.