With Russell Martin under pressure in the opening stages of the Premier League campaign, Southampton have reportedly added a rising young coach to their shortlist to replace their under pressure manager.
Martin under pressure at Southampton
Southampton were always set for a difficult task after earning promotion through the Championship play-offs last season, breaking Leeds United hearts at Wembley in the process. But that hasn’t stopped the doubt from creeping in at St Mary’s, with Saints chiefs already seemingly considering their manager’s future amid disagreements over his play style.
In worryingly similar fashion to Burnley under Vincent Kompany last season, Martin deploys a high-risk system in the hope of earning the high rewards that are yet to really come to fruition. Mistakes playing out from the back in a 3-1 defeat against Brentford exposed the troubles that the Saints are facing in their current attempts to replicate the type of football played best by Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side.
There’s quite the gulf in class between Martin’s side and Guardiola’s, however, with the former now running the risk of losing his job for the sake of sticking to his guns at St Mary’s, having dropped points from a winning position against Ipswich on Saturday courtesy of Sam Morsy’s incredible late equaliser.
According to Football Insider, Southampton have added John Eustace to their shortlist of options to replace Martin should they decide to part ways with the former Swansea City boss. Eustace, currently in charge of Blackburn Rovers, has enjoyed a solid start to the season and currently has his side on course for a season away from relegation trouble and perhaps even back among the fight for a play-off place.
Martin is someone who knows all about Eustace’s quality, having never managed to beat the 44-year-old with three games featuring a draw between Blackburn and Southampton last season, a 4-3 victory for Birmingham City over Martin’s Swansea side and a 2-2 draw.
“Solid” Eustace lacks Premier League experience
Whilst Eustace has enjoyed success at Birmingham and is now guiding Blackburn back to better things in the Championship, Southampton cannot afford to be taking a risk on a manager who has never taken charge of a Premier League game. They’re already full of doubt over Martin’s ability to guide them to safety in his first top-flight campaign, so Eustace may only discover the same problems.
That said, Eustace’s time should one day come in England’s top tier, having been dubbed “solid” by HLTCO after Birmingham shocked the rest of the Championship by parting ways with their manager despite competing for a play-off place. Of course, all it takes is one look at the Blues’ relegation to League One since sacking Eustace to realise both his quality and their major mistake.
