As Martin leaves the Saints bottom of the Premier League and seven points from safety, Richard Jolly analyses the cause of Saints’ issues and why they refused to deviate from their footballing ideolog

The Saints could welcome back one of its key players for Wednesday's Carabao Cup clash. The decision to part ways with manager Russell Martin was made this weekend.

Russell Martin finally paid the price for Southampton‘s poor start to the season after a 5-0 thrashing against Tottenham left them nine points adrift of safety. The 38-year-old missed the final goal of his reign in real time after disappearing down the tunnel as James Maddison scored at the end of the first-half.