Russell Martin has the unenviable task of turning around Southampton’s poor start to the season, starting against Ipswich Town on Saturday.
Southampton are yet to register a single point in the Premier League but did beat Everton on penalties to progress in the Carabao Cup after a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes on Tuesday night.
Russell Martin and Sean Dyche’s sides currently occupy the bottom two places in the Premier League so this game was not high on the list of priorities for either manager but it was a chance for a number of Southampton players to impress.
Some took that, namely Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Alex McCarthy, whilst others struggled to stake their claim for a spot in the starting XI in the league.
One player that falls into the latter category is Adam Armstrong, with last season’s top scorer really struggling so far this campaign.
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Russell Martin not handing Adam Armstrong Southampton captaincy could be telling
Last season Armstrong scored 24 goals and provided 13 assists as he helped fire the Saints to promotion.
However, doubts remained regarding his ability to make the step up to the Premier League given he previously scored just four goals in two top flight seasons at Southampton following a £15 million move from Blackburn Rovers in 2021.
Martin has had to make some tough decisions as his side have lost all four league games this campaign and one of those saw Armstrong drop out of the starting lineup against Manchester United at the weekend.
Armstrong was handed a chance to impress against Everton but was surpassingly not named captain despite wearing the armband whenever Jack Stephens was absent last season.
Instead, 22-year-old Harwood-Bellis skippered the side on the night and this could be an indication of how far Armstrong’s stock has fallen in Martin’s mind.
Armstrong unlikely to start for Southampton against Ipswich Town
Despite it still being so early in the season, Saturday’s home game against fellow newly-promoted Ipswich is simply a must-win for Martin.
Should Southampton fail to beat Ipswich then the St Mary’s crowd could turn, with the side showing little so far this campaign to suggest they can avoid relegation.
With Stephens suspended following his red card against United, Harwood-Bellis could again captain the side despite being dropped in that game as he proved his worth against Everton.
- READ MORE: Southampton boss Russell Martin shares what ‘annoyed’ him most about Jack Stephens red card
However, Armstrong was again really poor against the Toffees and will likely have to watch on from the bench as Tyler Dibling, Cameron Archer and Ben Brereton Diaz make up the likely front three.
This represents a real fall from grace for Armstrong, who must now be wondering what Martin has planned for him.