The Swansea City manager was vocal with his criticism of the way that Southampton’s players went about their duty on the day and criticised the referee after the game for failing to take a hold of the match.

Martinez said โ€œYou need a strong referee at this stage of the season and I felt that some of the physicality was over the line

โ€œThere was an incident when the referee was going to send another player off and then he changed his mind. My players didnโ€™t get the protection that they deserved.

โ€œFootball is a contact sport and we all know it has to be physical, but thereโ€™s a thin line where the referee needs to stamp his authority and he didnโ€™t do that well.

โ€œIf you step over the line you should be punished but I thought Southampton got away with it.”

However, Wotte hit back and said โ€œI respect Roberto Martinez because he is a very good manager but he should not be on the touchline asking for yellow or red cards.

โ€œThis attitude is not what I expect of a quality coach, but I know there were also some Swansea players looking for yellow or red cards.

โ€œWe know that if you let Swansea pass then you are in trouble so we made more tackles than passes.

โ€œItโ€™s OK with me because this is Championship football. Weโ€™re in a battle and my players were like warriors.โ€