Southampton boss Russell Martin reveals optimism after cup exit | OneFootball

Southampton boss Russell Martin has revealed that the performance against Everton in the EFL Cup has given him something to think about ahead of the weekend.

“As a collective, the feeling is always good,” he told his pre-match press conference.  “We can only try to get better. On Tuesday we were better – now we need to be better on Saturday.”

His side will host Ipswich Town in the Premier League this weekend, having been promoted alongside them last season.

“It’s going to be really interesting to come up against Ipswich and see how they’ve made changes,” the boss added.

“Part of our job is to be storytellers with the players, who are the main characters. We used that late defeat against Ipswich as fuel a lot of times.

“We have a lot of different players now. This season is a different story, but maybe we can tap into that.”

“There will be different shapes for different opposition. Different players will be used against different opposition.

“Last year we had a balanced side, and that helped, but we need to balance that with needing different things for different games.”

Finally, Martin was asked about Cameron Archer, who missed the decisive penalty in the shootout against Everton.

“Cam is a brilliant young man. He’s missed a penalty – he will miss chances. Your response to disappointment is the most important thing.”

Southampton are currently rock bottom of the Premier League, joining Everton as the only two sides yet to score a point.