Southampton FC latest: Che Adams future, Phil Parsons on Saints finances, Russell Martin "stubborn git" claim | OneFootball

After a disappointing start on their return to the Championship, Russell Martin will be hoping to witness a reaction from his side as they look to push themselves back into promotion contention.

The Saints currently find themselves languishing in 15th place heading into this weekend’s round of fixtures, after last week’s defeat to Middlesbrough saw the South Coast outfit register their fourth successive league defeat.

After struggling to adapt to the relentless challenge the Championship brings, the second tier side will be aiming to get their campaign back on track, but face the difficult prospect of hosting Leeds United, with the Whites climbing into the play-off places after an unbeaten run of six matches under Daniel Farke.

Here at Football League World, we are going to round-up all the latest and breaking news surrounding Southampton.

Southampton boss Russell Martin has reiterated his intent to stick with the Saints’ current style of play, despite conceding the most goals in the division.

The 37-year-old will be looking to find solutions to his side’s leaky defence, with 19 shipped from their opening eight fixtures, with some coming from their own mistakes when attempting to play out from the back.

Alfie House from the Daily Echo, Martin in his pre-match press conference defended his tactics saying: “Four defeats in a row is not easy but we had a choice to come in and attack everything.

“It’s been painful (regarding defensive woes) and there’s a lot to work on and improve.

“I think we have narrowed down a few things that will help us. We practice it relentlessly and follow that cycle.

“If it works, I’ll be praised for having conviction but if it doesn’t, I’ll be called a stubborn git. We’re not going to take a massive diversion. It’s what the club had decided. I get the feeling everyone here is so with us.”

For team news, Saints fans will be without club captain Jack Stephens with a calf issue while they will have to wait a little longer to see summer arrival Ross Stewert make his competitive debut in red and white, but he continues to progress on his return from an achilles injury sustained in January and is completing shooting drills with two coaches.

Saints star now settled following transfer speculation

Southampton striker Che Adams insists he is now fully settled and focused on helping the club after being linked with a move away from the St Mary’s stadium during the summer transfer window.

Back in August, the 27-year-old was of interest to top flight outfit Everton, who reportedly looked to secure the services of Adams for £12 million.

However, the move didn’t materialise, with the Scottish international remaining in the second tier and now looking to end his run of four games without a goal.

When asked about whether he is now settled in after the window closing, Adams told the BBC: “Definitely, apart from putting the ball in the net.

“I have always enjoyed playing for Southampton. It was an unsure time during that window.

“It is always difficult as a player not knowing where you are going, if you are coming or going.

“But as I said, I am fully focused on Southampton now and enjoying every minute whether we are winning or losing, scoring the winners or not.”

Southampton CEO speaks out on clubs’ finances

Saints CEO Phil Parsons has outlined the clubs’ financial state of play, with a complex situation surrounding the South Coast-based side.

Southampton signed off 18 departures away from the St Mary’s stadium, with big-money fees received for the likes of James Ward-Prowse, Romeo Lavia, Tino Livramento and Nathan Tella.

Despite the club making such a large profit from sales this summer, the club have to pay back an £80 million loan made out to MSD Holdings which relates to previous owner Gao Jisheng, who used the money to cover losses made from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking to the Daily Echo Parsons said: “We had to make some tough decisions on certain redundancies and roles and we have had to scale back but we have tried to support the football as much as possible.

“We’ve got a squad with actually quite ‘healthy’ wages against other squads today. The obvious question that you want to ask is about how we sold a lot of players.

“There are fees to pay and you will typically only get the money over three seasons. It doesn’t suddenly cover the drop from the Premier League, even including the parachute payments.