“Beautiful thing” - Russell Martin reveals promotion factor that could work in Southampton’s favour | OneFootball

Southampton boss Russell Martin believes it's a "beautiful thing" that his side have been written off by some people in the race for automatic promotion, speaking to BBC Radio Solent.

The Saints previously looked like a firm favourites to secure a top-two place, even though Leicester City and Ipswich Town were the teams to pull ahead of everyone else earlier in the campaign.

Leeds United have also been brilliant, but the Saints went unbeaten for months and looked extremely strong.

Unfortunately for them, they suffered a dip and with their game against Preston North End being postponed earlier this month, this has allowed the likes of Ipswich and Leeds to capitalise.

And a lot of people are heavily focused on the Foxes, the Whites and the Tractor Boys now, with the Saints now eight points adrift of the top three.

However, the latter have two games in hand and Martin's side may be ready to pounce on any mistakes, especially if they can win these games in hand.

Russell Martin on Southampton promotion push

Some would find it insulting that the south-coast side have been written off in the automatic promotion race - but Martin believes it's a positive thing.

He said: "It is going to be a really busy five weeks and I think everyone is excited about it. I think the beautiful thing for us is that we have been written off by everyone.

"We have a tough game against Middlesbrough who are in good form. They have been unlucky if you look at their data and they probably should be higher up the table.

"Over the international break, the guys that have been here have been fantastic. I have really enjoyed working with them."

It's a big ask for Southampton to win automatic promotion now

The Saints do have some gifted players who can make up the deficit.

However, they could suffer from not having Ross Stewart at their disposal, with the Scotsman able to be a game-changer at this level when fit along with the likes of Adam Armstrong and Che Adams.

The form of other teams may also prevent them from securing a top-two place.

Leeds look unstoppable at the moment and Ipswich look to have hit a decent run of form at the right time.

Leicester may be enduring a tough time at the moment - but with the quality of players Enzo Maresca has at his disposal - you would back the Foxes to turn things around at some point.

The Saints can't be ruled out of the race yet though - and they will use the fact they have been written off by some as fuel to go on and prove those doubters wrong. It remains to be seen whether they can make up the deficit though.