Southampton boss Russell Martin is relishing the challenge of facing high-flying Chelsea despite their slow start in the Premier League this season.
Southampton’s major goal this season, following their return to the Premier League, is to escape rapid relegation to the Championship. The Saints are now at the bottom of the league, with only five points from their first 13 matches.
Southampton’s only league win this season was a 1-0 victory over Everton at St. Mary’s last month.
Southampton’s next test is against Chelsea, who have won their last three matches in all competitions, and with Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Flynn Downes, and Tyler Dibling all suspended, as well as Lesley Ugochukwu out (ineligible to face his parent club) and Aaron Ramsdale continuing his recovery from injury, they are huge underdogs to pick up a point on Wednesday night.
“We have to accept we’re missing some key players but we also have a lot of trust in the players we have,” Martin told reporters. “We are confident in the shape in which we will play since we have done it before.
“We must adapt and tinker while maintaining our core beliefs. I’m excited to see how we deal with that.”
Martin is intrigued about the prospect of needing to find other methods to beat one of the league’s most in-form clubs. They will be confident heading into Wednesday’s game after barely losing 3-2 to league leaders Liverpool last month.
“It’s quite exciting trying to work out the best way to accommodate those suspensions and injuries in the same way when we knew others were going to come out.”
On Chelsea, Martin added, “They are really starting to click into gear and get into flow a little bit. They performed admirably against Aston Villa over the weekend.
“They have some good players, but the key is to get them on the ball and in the right positions. They are capable of doing their duties on a regular basis.”
Read more news on:https://sportupdates.co.uk/
Leave a Reply