Southampton welcome Preston North End to St Mary’s on Wednesday night in another must win game as they look to gather some momentum ahead of the final ten games of the season.
Russell Martin has his work cut out in the promotion race, with his Southampton side currently fourth in the Championship and their form faltering at a key stage of the season.
Having gone 25 games unbeaten in all competitions between the end of September and the start of February, it is now four defeats in their last six. The biggest concern is defensively, with Saturday’s 4-3 win over ten-man Birmingham City meaning that the Saints have conceded 13 in that six-game run.
Preston are a side who come to St Mary’s in good form having picked up ten points from the last 12 available and currently sitting just three points off the play-offs. If Southampton are to make it back-to-back wins then they will have to be far more resolute defensively than they have in recent games and Martin must make one key personnel change to help them do just that.
Why James Bree must start against Preston
With Southampton’s best player this season in Kyle Walker-Peters absent through an injury sustained against Liverpool in the FA Cup, Martin opted to play Taylor Harwood-Bellis at right-back against Birmingham, with Jan Bednarek and Jack Stephens at centre-back and Ryan Manning on the left.
Many fans feel that Martin’s attempts to integrate captain Stephens into a side that was defending so well in the unbeaten run, for which the skipper was mostly absent, is damaging the side to accommodate one individual. With a settled back four throughout that run, Southampton conceded just 17 goals in 25 games in all competitions, with Harwood-Bellis and Bednarek developing a really strong partnership in that period.
Speaking on the selection issue that having Stephens, Harwood-Bellis and Bednarek available is causing in his pre-Preston press conference, Martin effectively confirmed he has made changes to the side to try and shoehorn Stephens in as he said: “I think we’re blessed with the centre-halves we have so it’s up to us to find the best solution to try and get them all on the pitch”.
Given how well Southampton were performing with a more conventional back four – playing two natural full-backs with two central defenders – it seems misguided to change that at such a crucial stage of the campaign. With James Bree returning from the injury that has kept him out since before Christmas in the FA Cup defeat to Liverpool, Martin should start the 26-year-old in his preferred right-back role against Preston in midweek.
It was against Preston that Bree made his first league start of the season in late October with Manning suspended; his impressive performance in an unnatural left-back role resulting in him starting the four games that followed.
The game in late October was most notable for a last minute equaliser courtesy of a Gavin Bazunu header having gone up for a corner; albeit the goal was eventually given as an own goal. However, it is also the night that Bree revived his Southampton career having struggled after signing in January to reunite with his Luton Town manager Nathan Jones who departed just weeks later.
Bree offers a solid option defensively, whilst his right-back experience will give the side a much more balanced feel than playing a central defender in the role with Walker-Peters out. He also offers a better option in possession as, despite being more cautious than Walker-Peters, he does look to get into good crossing positions and utilise his cultured right foot to deliver.
What has Russell Martin said about Bree?
Martin is a fan of Bree, and the full-back’s run in the side in October and November is evidence that if you impress when you come in then you keep your place under the Southampton boss.
Southampton have certainly missed having Bree as an option at the start of 2024, with his ability to play at either right or left-back giving Martin a good rotation option and the ability to approach more difficult games with slightly more practicality due to his superior defensive instincts when compared to Manning.
Speaking in early October – a few weeks prior to that Preston game which rejuvenated his Saints career – Martin was complimentary of a player who has had to bide his time at the club.
Martin said: “The way he has trained, the way he is as a pro, the way he is as a character – he is one of the nicest, best teammates you can find. He is really unassuming and works so hard. He has real quality”.
“He is so resilient. You can see that from his career. He had a move early on which didn’t go to plan. Then he went out on loan and found a place that really suited him in Luton”.
“He bounced back and earned himself a move here and has had another really difficult period. He is a better player than he actually believes. It’s up to us to bring that out of him”.
Whilst handing Bree a start against Preston will give Martin a difficult decision to make when selecting between his three central defenders, it feels like a decision he must make in order to give Southampton the best chance of winning another huge game.