Following Leicester’s decisive victory, Southampton appears destined for the play-offs, with Leeds United and Ipswich Town vying for the second spot.
Russell Martin claimed that during Southampton’s crushing 5-0 loss to Leicester City, the team entered “self-preservation mode.
“With just two games left, Southampton is six points behind Leeds United following a turbulent night at the King Power Stadium. Abdul Fatawu, a winger for Leicester, was the game’s hat-trick hero. Jamie Vardy and Wilfred Ndidi also scored goals as the hosts had a fantastic evening.
Southampton were blasted by Leicester despite the fact that all of their goals could have been prevented due to a worrying lack of urgency.
Southampton’s defeat effectively put a stop to any hopes of finishing in the top two, as their significantly worse goal differential made it nearly impossible to catch Leeds. Martin, who too often witnessed his side sliced open, will be troubled by the way the game was played out. The former Swansea manager has a history of expressing his true feelings to his players after games and has never held back.
After the loss, Martin said to Sky Sports, “We were in the game at 1-0, started the second half so well, but our moves didn’t come to enough and we defended pathetically after going two goals down.” “I thought the first half of the game was really tactical, high-level, both teams pressing well, and both struggling to get a real flow with the ball because it was two aggressive teams,” the author said.
“In the second half, we had a great start and created a lot of issues, but the second goal eases the pain.” You had to regroup at that point, but we didn’t, and as a result, we each went into individual self-preservation mode. The worst thing you can do in football is to attempt to defend yourself and think that you’re contributing enough to the team, rather than going above and beyond. That quality is something I genuinely dislike about my squad, and it hurts a lot.
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Southampton, who also suffered a loss at Cardiff City on Saturday, has now suffered two straight losses at the worst possible time and will almost probably have to deal with the drama of play-off football. With two games left, the final one against Leeds, Martin will have a formidable task in trying to rally his team following the loss.
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