Russell Martin Makes Performance Admission As Southampton Suffer Wolves Blow

Wolves made a perfect start when they went 1-0 up in two minutes when Pablo Sarabia rounded Aaron Ramsdale. Matheus Cunha added a second with a stunning long-range strike. Saints thought they had equalised at 1-1 through Ryan Manning, only for referee Thomas Bramall to chalk it off for a foul in the build-up after watching a replay on the pitchside monitor.

Asked about Manning’s disallowed goal, Martin said: “I think it’s open to interpretation. [Nelson] Semedo doesn’t try to play the ball – he puts his leg across him and then there’s contact. We were expecting a penalty. It is what it is.

“It’s not a foul. The understanding for the guy watching it and making the decision needs to be so much better. It’s a lack of understanding of the situation.”

He added: “The second goal rocked us, in terms of performance, and it gave them energy, you could see that. My take on it is: if I say before the game we’re going to come and have that much of the ball in the final third, I expect us to get something from it.

“How dominant we are with the ball and in the final third, it’s really not easy in the Premier League, that. So we have to make the most of that, and we’re not. We need to do way more in the final third. The team gets there so much, then people need to do something, express themselves, play together with more energy and spark.

“We should do more with the ball, so to come here and have as much of the ball as we did especially in the final third is not easy. If you said before the game we’d limit them to eight shots and be in and around their final third as much as we were, I’d expect to have something to show for it.

“It’s not enough, I guarantee I’ll get asked about the style of play. The team builds up to the final third in this structure so they can do their stuff. We get in their box a lot in the first half but need to do more for sure. It’ll be what it’ll be, we’ll work as hard as we can – the rest of it is out of my control so I don’t sweat. Hopefully I’ll be speaking to you in two weeks.”