Journalist makes Southampton admission amid Russell Martin struggles | OneFootball

Journalist Dean Jones believes this current period is a real test of faith for Southampton's board, speaking to Give Me Sport.

The Saints had made an excellent start to the season, but their 5-0 defeat at Sunderland just before the international break has threatened to derail their season.

Coming into their game at the Stadium of Light, they had won 10 points from a possible 12 and were in excellent shape, but they were torn apart on Wearside and had to think about that result throughout the international break.

Unfortunately for them, that interval seemed to do them no favours, with the Saints going on to suffer another heavy loss after with Leicester City claiming an emphatic 4-1 win at St Mary's.

They had the chance to get themselves back on track against Ipswich Town, but lost 1-0 against Kieran McKenna's side who have enjoyed a magnificent start to the season.

Middlesbrough, on the other hand, hadn't won a league game this term before last weekend's clash with Russell Martin's side. However, Michael Carrick's side came from behind to win 2-1 and the Saints seem to be on the slide.

The Saints' decent start to the season means they aren't in the drop zone and that's at least a positive for Martin who probably would have been sacked if they were in the drop zone.

However, the ex-Swansea City boss is a man under pressure at the moment, because the south-coast outfit are expected to be competing for promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

And they are currently in 15th place, already 11 points adrift of the top two which is remarkable considering Championship teams have only played eight league games so far this season.

This cannot continue - and the Saints need to get back on track sooner rather than later.

What did Dean Jones say about Southampton amid Russell Martin's struggles?

With the club winning no points from a possible 12 in their last four games, journalist Jones believes this current period is a real test of faith for the club's board, with Martin's future on the line.

He said: "I think this is a real test of faith for Saints and the Saints board because it's been such a bad start that fans are starting to get antsy and if this run continues then the calls for a change of manager are going to get louder.

"This is not a team that you would expect to be talking about as anything but promotion favourites, yet they've had four defeats in a row, and undoubtedly that has dented confidence and belief in this new project.

"The one thing to say is that things can turn around fast."

Should Russell Martin's future at Southampton be in doubt?

If the club are desperate to get back to the top tier at the first time of asking, Martin wasn't the right man to appoint because he needs time to implement his philosophy.

In saying that, his defensive record at Swansea City and St Mary's has been poor and that's a key weakness of his management.

If they fail to tighten up at the back, it doesn't matter what they do in the final third because they will only be able to secure a limited number of points.

And if their defence fails to improve, the Saints' board have every right to pull the trigger and hire a different manager.

Their defence is good enough to keep clean sheets in this league and there should be no excuses for Martin.

He shouldn't be sacked straight away - but if results don't improve in the next five games - you wouldn't blame the club for sacking him.