Russell Martin makes Carlos Alcaraz admission after Southampton's win over Leeds United | OneFootball

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Russell Martin has explained the decision behind Carlos ‘Charly’ Alcaraz’s return to the Southampton side this weekend.

The Argentine has struggled for game time in recent weeks, with the team’s form declining during this period with the 20-year-old out of the starting lineup.

The Saints got back to winning ways upon Alcaraz’s return, ending a run of four straight defeats in a row.

A 3-1 win over promotion rivals Leeds United has moved the club back up to 10th in the Championship table, within three points of the play-off places.

Goals from Adam Armstrong and Will Smallbone had the team 3-0 up by half time, with Pascal Struijk pulling one back for the Whites in the second period.

What has Russell Martin said about Carlos Alcaraz’s Southampton return?

Martin praised the midfielder’s performance in training, highlighting it as a key reason for why he worked to find a way to get him into the team for the Leeds clash.

The Southampton boss claimed that his aim was to free Alcaraz up, which he feels worked excellently against Daniel Farke’s side on Saturday.

“We wanted Charly in the team because he has trained so well,” said Martin, via the Daily Echo.

"His mentality has been great.

“I put him in a role that suits him more than the other ones he has played in recently.

“We wanted to free him up a little bit.

“We did that I think - he was amazing with it.

“We sat down a lot this week and went through it and watched a lot of clips.

"His understanding of it was really good.

"I’m really proud of him and really pleased for him.

“He was outstanding [Saturday]."

Alcaraz’s last start came in the win over QPR in late August before returning to team this weekend.

He had come off the bench in games against Sunderland, Leicester City and Ipswich Town, but he was unable to make an impact as the side suffered defeats in all three fixtures.

Southampton had slipped to 15th with this poor run of form in recent weeks, but have moved back into the top half of the table with victory over Leeds.

The table is still very compact at this stage of the season, with Southampton aiming to gain promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt this year.

Next up for Martin’s side is a midweek clash away to Stoke City, with the two teams set to meet on 3 October.

Should Carlos Alcaraz start more games for Southampton?

It is a coincidence that Southampton’s losing run matches perfectly with Alcaraz’s absence from the team.

However, it does show just how important he could be for Martin’s side and the added attacking threat he brings when in the starting lineup.

Southampton’s bigger issue has been defensive solidity, which is a huge area that needs to be addressed by Martin for any promotion push.

Alcaraz won’t make the team defend better, but his arrival back into the side may afford a better balance between attack and defence, which could be what’s needed to turn their form around in the next few games.