Phil Sumbler
As the speculation intensifies that Russell Martin is set to be the new manager of Southampton, the discussion turned to the potential appointment of Martin on Sky’s Soccer Saturday.
And it is fair to say that Lee Hendrie was not a fan of the Saints choice of management and questioned quite clearly whether it was the right appointment for the side who will return to the Championship next season after their relegation this time around.
News broke yesterday that Martin had impressed Southampton in his talks with them and that the Saints saw him as the man to return them to the top flight but that is not the way that Hendrie sees it as he explained on the programme.
“I don’t see the logic in it, I really don’t,” said Hendrie.
“Look, he has gone in to Swansea and what has he actually achieved there? I like Russell and what he does, I like his style of play, he plays a lot of football and that is one thing I will say for him.
“But when you are finishing mid-table in the Championship, I just think that is a big, big ask for him to go in there. Listen, Southampton are going to have to have that bounce back factor and to be honest, I am not disputing that he has not done decent things, but I don’t think he’s the manager that is going to take them back into the Premier League, I really don’t.”
I have to agree with Hendrie, but not for the reasons he makes.
I think Russell needs time, whichever club he goes to – unless of course it was to a team like Brighton (very much like Potter).
If he goes, he will need every second of preseason to get Southampton working as he wants them to. A BIG ask.
And if the results dont come early, and they take some beatings along the way, especially against teams they’d be expected to beat, then he could easily go the way of Nathan Jones.
[url=https://todaynews.pro/]https://todaynews.pro/[/url]