No one can be happy with four defeats in a row, but this is football and the rot has to stop somewhere and for Russell Martin is is extremely important that it stops at home to Leeds United on Saturday.

There have basically been two reactions to the run of defeats that Russell Martin's Southampton team have suffered over the last few weeks, some have decided that this is proof that his possession football game is not working and is never going to work, whilst others are prepared to give him more time.

Perhaps I am generalising here but that seems to be the situation as it stands at the moment, I should also clarify that although there are plenty condemning him, there does not appear to be many Saints fans who back him unequivocally to succeed, it is just two schools of thought.

Four defeats in a row is not a good run of form and no one is denying that, but it does not mean that it is going to be terminal for the season.

In 1979/80 Saints finished 8th as they prepared for the arrival of Kevin Keegan, yet at the end of November 1979 they had lost 8 of the 17 League games played, they had a run of 7 League games with just a single win in the middle in the 5th game of that run.

Chris Nicholl didn't lose 4 in a row in his first season as manager, but in his first 15 League games he managed just two wins and ended this run of games with a 7-0 defeat at Luton Town.

When Alan Ball arrived as manager, he won his first game with a last minute Matt Le Tissier goal at Newcastle, he won two out of the next three, but then he lost 4 of the next 7, failing to win any of them, but no one blamed the change of playing style he imposed which was basically give it to Le God.

Alan Pardew didn't start too well and nor did Nigel Adkins in his first season in the Premier League or for that matter his successor Mauricio Pochettino.

These are just the good ones, history is littered with Southampton managers who have not actually set the world alight either at the start of their Saints careers or at some point in the middle.

But those that succeeded owe their success to the fact that the Southampton board stuck with them, even when in the case of most of them the fans were calling for their blood.

This of course doesn't mean that they had done enough for the fans to back them, but whether the supporters liked it or not they were given time and did well.

But at some point in that time, they had to show that they were turning things around, they had to show those employing them they were moving forward and they had to show the fans.

This is the first of those moments on Saturday for Russell Martin when his side takes on Leeds United.

Those saying give Martin times will point to the fact that although there have been two utterly unacceptable defeats, the last two games have seen progress in both of them.

This Saturday there has to be more progress not just in terms of performance, but in halting the run of defeats, a point would go a long way, a win much much further.

As I have said elsewhere, Russell Martin in essence has only had this squad together since the start of September due to the transfers in and out during August, he has not had much time to work with his squad.

There are excuses for the poor form, but it is not for him to make those excuses, that only riles up sections of the support even more, he has to show he has a calm head and can get his side playing the way he wants and more importantly winning games of football.

Although I personally feel that we can't just make it 3 managers in a row sacked after barely a dozen games, I do also accept there is a cut off point where a line has to be drawn.

That cut off date is not this Saturday, in fact that cut off date should not be named at all, it should be fluid, if Russell Martin beats Leeds and then wins the next three games, that will silence some of his critics, but ultimately does that mean that he is now a good manager.

I would say no, but it buys him time to show that he is getting things right and he has to keep winning games.

In essence that is why Chris Nicholl & Nigel Adkins are still popular with Saints supporters.

So Saturday for Russell Martin is about buying time, halt the defeats and he will live to fight another day, losing perhaps won't lead to his sacking, but it will bring much ranting in the fan base and it will make the Saints board jumpy.

They will already be making contingency plans, they will review "what if" situations and what they might do.

From Russell Martin's perspective if he doesn't start winning he is vulnerable, I have always said if you are sacking a manager then you have to have a replacement lined up and that replacement needs to be an upgrade.

In my opinion names like Neil Warnock are short term options, they win you a few games and then end up getting sacked and they do not improve things long term.

Martin may stay in a job longer than the board might like, but should for example someone like Graham Potter should become interested, then the board might jump at the chance.

So the Leeds United game is simple, win it and Martin stops the trigger fingers getting itchy, lose it and this club starts to fragment, definitely in the fan base and perhaps even in the dressing room.

I hope that Russell Martin succeeds at Southampton FC as that means we as a club are succeeding and that we have continuity, for me it is not personal, towards the manager, it is just business, do the job and show you deserve to be in it.

Photo: Action Images

SaintPaulVW added 11:08 - Sep 27 I reacted quite harshly after Saturday. Having calmed down a bit I'm probably passing in the wind but really, I just want it all to calm down a bit. Demanding we change managers faster than we change shirt designs is just exhausting. Win, lose or draw I'll keep following Saints but the heightened cliff hanger that each game's result is being built up onto is just OTT. So I hope RM makes a few alterations, bites his lip, or distracts after games and we all calm down. Sports Republic would be daft to sack someone after 10 games of mixed results. Even if we don't go up this season, as long as there is an overall improvement later on this year then fair enough. However, if Potter is willing and available, then forget all that and grab him😂 COYR

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felly1 added 11:37 - Sep 27 I agree too that we should give him more time. Less stuff about why we should have kept Puel and Ralph would be nice though Nick.
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andywelsh added 11:51 - Sep 27 Quite clearly after the turmoil of last season we need some stability so I too hope that RM can turn it around. I seem to remember that Lawrie McMenemy took over from Ted Bates when we were in the top half of the table and took us down. He ended up as the club’s most successful ever manager, but these days he would have been sacked in his first season. Like everyone I am unsure whether RM is the answer but unless we look in serious danger of relegation we simply have to get behind him and support the team. Negative vibes from the stands and indeed on social media can be pretty toxic for a club as we have seen elsewhere.

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Centurion added 12:03 - Sep 27 Agree with Andywelsh. I think we should assume that RM at least a season. I am confident that things will come good, but it may take time. I also think we may well be looking at 3 seasons before we are ready to return to PL.
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IanRC added 12:11 - Sep 27 If Potter is willing we should take his arm off if SR are truly interested in seeing us back in the premier league but I am not convinced they are serious. Alcaraz and Sulamana or Amo-Ayew should start and Manning should not but I will be amazed if RM has that in him.
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SaintNick added 12:59 - Sep 27 Some reasoned views here, thats all i ask of people with Russell Martin and indeed any player or manager, give them a reasonable time to show what they can do, there are always times in a football season when things look grim, but there are also times at the end of it when you look back and think that although they felt bad at the time they were just a blip. No one is glossing over it, we cannot afford to add to this run of defeats, but it isn't terminal just yet

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Newdawn2014 added 13:58 - Sep 27 It may not be terminal but the patient is really unwell .
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kingolaf added 14:29 - Sep 27 I would be willing to give him time if he wasn’t so wedded to such an ineffective playing philosophy. Good managers are adaptable and flexible with their tactics. If Martin becomes that, then fair enough. However, I’ve already got the impression that he’s not.
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Boxingman75 added 15:22 - Sep 27 Russell Martin or sports republic are obviously still able to hack on to this site and post ridiculous threads , I did state this the other day
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davidargyll added 17:32 - Sep 27 I do find everyone’s attitude about RM deserving more time, purely based on time given too managers historically, as completely bizarre Do people really not understand that in the last three or four years the game has changed irrevocably? How so? The fact is that the PL now is attracting the absolute cream of European if not global players, which has resulted in the quality of top flight football in the UK going off the scale. (Viz 2022/23 saw 1084 goals scored, the highest ever). This in turn has meant that those who used to be the cream have now had to trade downwards, this has gone on down the leagues, and this in turn quality has improved all the way down. And because the competition in all leagues is so much greater now, you/we therefore absolutely must have a manager that can cope with what is in effect a “lower-half-of-the-PL” standard football. Now if you are saying that Russell Martin is that man, frankly I think you are talking utter rubbish, because he is a “lower-half-of-the-Championship” standard manager AT BEST. He is utterly useless, he will be sacked at some stage, just as night follows day because HE IS SIMPLY NOT UP TO THE STANDARD REQUIRED, and I think giving him any more time now will be disastrous.

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goalie66 added 17:50 - Sep 27 To me the issue is progress. Are the players learning. Are they improving from the coaching. Are they playing as a team that knows their roles and can execute them. Can we see improvements in performance even if results are not so good? In the last 4 games we have conceded less goals but equally are not creating many chances either. WE are slow ponderous and opposition teams have realised that they only need to press near our penalty ares to score. We are currently, predictable one dimensional and boring to watch. Sadly our expectations were raised because we have a good squad of players that are disorganised and appear non motivated. The expectation is and should be that we should be in the top two. Will that expectation be realised? Unless there is a fundamental change in adopting sidways passing in your own box to players surrounded by the oppositio we will continue to fail as well as provide miserable entertainment. I think there many Saints fans that have become extremely disillusioned with the modern game and diehard fans are becoming ambivalent. Saturday afternoons should be a pleasure to anticipate rather than a predictable Dentist chair experience. How will that change? SR having a new strategy about footballl rather than the business of footbal

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Bowlercow added 20:35 - Sep 27 No one can say he is not up to the job after such a short time. If we are not close to the top 6 at Christmas then SR need a rethink And they must have an upgrade lined up Not Warnock Even SAF was booked in his early days Many Saints would have sacked LMac I am watching City play a possession game but at a much quicker pace and even then they occasionally get caught in possession Like an earlier poster I think we are at the start of what may be a 3 year project

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SanMarco added 22:01 - Sep 27 The Lawrie Mac example is fifty years old. No one gets or expects that long now. Ralph's survival through the various lows of his regime was highly unusual. It is important to remember that it is SR who are creating the situations that fans are reacting to. All Saints fans want RM to succeed because they want Saints to succeed. We would all, of course, love 3 wins in a row but if we lose to Leeds and Stoke then Rotherham really will be last chance saloon. I wish I trusted SR to get the next appointment right.

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dellboysaint added 22:57 - Sep 27 It is the nature of some of the goals that we have conceded which is most concerning. Newcastle beat Sheff U. by moving the ball forward at every opportunity rather than tippy tappy stuff in their own half. We spend too much of the game playing tippy tappy in the wrong areas.
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Block8 added 09:20 - Sep 28 it shouldn't be strange that all genuine Saints fans want him to succeed, because if he does then we are doing well. However the thing needed most quickly, which will buy him time, is to cut out the errors at the back. And I'm not sure that will happen until he sorts out midfield, particularly defensively. If we want to play out from the back there needs to be options, a fetcher, carrier, someone to pick the ball up from the defence and get it moving, all good teams have them regardless of style. Currently we do not, Smallbone is more than capable of playing this role but needs an out & out defensive player alongside him to allow this to happen. Perhaps this player is Shea Charles, if not we are buggered because I think he is the only defensive minded midfielder we have. The one certainty at present is to progress we desperately need to stop giving goals away as we really don't look like outscoring anyone in a shootout!

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Centurion added 09:40 - Sep 28 Some posters seem to be advocating a more direct style of play. Didn't we try that under N.Jones?
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YosemiteSaint added 05:42 - Sep 29 Everything just seems particularly casual at Saints these days. Perhaps everything would fall into place if Martin just showed up to work Saturday in a suit and tie?
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