Southampton manager Russell Martin has said that it is ‘nonsense’ that his players being annoyed at coming off is disrespectful.
Kamaldeen Sulemana was visibly disappointed to have come off in the 70th minute in the 1-0 win away at Millwall on Saturday afternoon, when the score was still at 0-0.
Ryan Fraser ended up scoring in the third minute of injury time to extend Saints’ unbeaten run to seven games.
Martin on player reactions to being subbed off
Speaking to the Daily Echo, Martin said he likes to see his players react this way when they come off as it shows they care and that there is healthy competition.
“There is real competition now and it’s really healthy, they trust each other. There were guys coming off the pitch at Millwall who were annoyed to be coming off.
“I don’t mind that. We spoke before and it’s a squad game but if you’re annoyed and you show it when you come off, I’m not bothered by that.
“They are human beings, they want to play football and I don’t see that as disrespectful or any of that nonsense. I see it as they want to stay on the pitch, as they should do.
“As long as you then celebrate with the guys when you have a moment like at Millwall, which they all did, then there is nothing wrong with that.”
Player reactions shows they care
It is good to see these types of reactions from the players.
It shows that they care and want to play for the football club.
Martin seeing it this way can only be positive for the entire squad.