Jan Bednarek identifies key Russell Martin attribute that helped Southampton during poor run | OneFootball

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Southampton centre-back Jan Bednarek has commended manager Russell Martin for his honesty and said that helped the team through a tough period, speaking to BBC Radio Solent.

This season has already been a bit of a rollercoaster for the relegated side, who will be keen to get themselves back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Starting the season well, they secured a late win against Sheffield Wednesday on the opening day of the season, drew 4-4 at home against a decent Norwich City outfit and then went on to claim victories against Plymouth Argyle and Queens Park Rangers.

Heading into the Sunderland game just before the international break, they were in good shape because of these results, but they collapsed at the Stadium of Light with two goals in the first seven minutes giving them a mountain to climb against Tony Mowbray's men.

And they were unable to respond to that, losing 5-0 in the end.

After the international break, defensive errors proved to be costly in their first game back, losing 4-1 at home against Leicester City and suffering another defeat at St Mary's as they fell to a 1-0 loss against Ipswich Town.

Taking the lead at Middlesbrough in their following game, it looked as though the Saints were going to get themselves back on track but Boro managed to turn things around to secure a 2-1 home win at the Riverside.

What did Jan Bednarek say about Russell Martin?

Those four consecutive losses came during a tough period for the Saints and thankfully for them, they have managed to get themselves back on track since with wins against Leeds United and Stoke City.

It would have been easy for the south-coast side to collapse completely following four consecutive defeats - and the Middlesbrough loss would have been a real blow considering Michael Carrick's side hadn't won a league game during 2023/24 before their meeting with the relegated outfit.

But to their credit, they have picked up six points from six in their past two league games and Bednarek had praise for manager Martin.

He said: "Whether bad or good, the team sticks together and we are honest with each other.

"The manager is always honest with us and explains what works and what doesn't.

"That honesty from the manager was really helpful through that tough period when we lost games. It helps us stay on the ground and we are getting better."

Martin needs to keep being honest with his players because that's how he will continue to earn more and more trust in the dressing room.

And if the players have trust in him, then that can only be a positive thing because it will improve the club's chances of earning some impressive results on the pitch.

But in press conferences, he needs to be defensive of his players regardless of whether they've had a good or bad performance.

He's encouraging his side to be brave and take risks with the style of play he has implemented.