Russell Martin recognizes a Southampton issue before the Leeds United Championship match.
This weekend, Daniel Farke sends his Whites team to St. Mary’s to compete against the two previous Premier League teams.
Russell Martin, the manager of Southampton, has asked his team to play with less “passivity” when they face Leeds United at St. Mary’s on Saturday.
On Saturday at noon, two of the Championship’s front-runners for promotion square off against one other on the south coast. Both teams are experiencing divergent fortunes. The Saints recovered from relegation and were unbeaten until their visit to Sunderland shortly before the international break, while Leeds under Daniel Farke had some time to get going after a tough first month.
But that 5-0 loss was only the beginning for Martin’s team as they would go on to lose four in a row, with their last setback coming on Saturday at the hands of Middlesbrough, who had just earned their first league victory of the year. The Leeds team, on the other hand, is beginning to build together a streak. Farke’s team is now on a six-match undefeated streak after losing their first three games.
Furthermore, they haven’t given up a goal in the Championship since beating Ipswich Town 4-3 in late August, and they enter the match against St. Mary’s with three more points than the Saints. Martin was dissatisfied with the manner of the loss at Middlesbrough and wants his team to play with more fervor when Leeds come to town.
The Daily Echo quoted him as saying, “When we go up 1-0, the mindset of the entire team absolutely changes. “We failed to hang onto the ball. You must take care of the ball if you aren’t going to press. None of that was done by us. In the end, that’s what hurt us. The game is too complex for me to attribute its success to a single factor. The audience was tense and the game was going just like we planned.
“We kept snatching the ball, but nevertheless we let the game to get a little out of hand. Michael Carrick and his staff deserve praise for their steadfast bravery. You can’t do that, and we let it slide. Now is the moment to start participating in the game.
“We pressed the ball and didn’t maintain it well enough, and when we didn’t have the ball, we didn’t play with the same fervor as we did in the first 20 minutes. That is a psychological issue rather than a tactical or technical one.
We didn’t practice sitting off them and in the middle of the field. At halftime, I told the players that I wasn’t sure what had changed. I don’t believe it was a deliberate choice; rather, I believe it was a subconscious one. We need to resume our previous activities. After a strong start to the second half, we let up the goal, which damaged us once again.
“At the club, it’s not a fast fix. There has been a significant hangover from the difficult year and preceding 18 months. Probably greater than we anticipated, but we’ll keep going all out and giving it our best to offer the supporters a team to be proud of.
“We are currently going through an extremely difficult time, perhaps worse than ever, but I understand your angst. We must continue our efforts. That’s all there is to it.
In the corresponding matchup from the previous season, the two teams tied 2-2, with Rodrigo scoring twice for Jesse Marsch’s team before Joe Aribo and Kyle Walker-Peters gave the home team a Premier League point.
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