Sport
Martin sacked after Tottenham thrash sorry Saints
A dazzling display from Spurs in the first half leaves Southampton rooted to the bottom of the table in what came to be Russell Martin’s last game in charge of the Saints.
It only took 40 seconds for Spurs to kill the hopes of the Southampton faithful, as James Maddison calmly slotted home after a stellar run from Djed Spence, claiming an early assist on his first ever Premier League start.
The quick-fire start continued for Tottenham, as Son Heung-Min and Dejan Kulusevski both converted past Alex McCarthy to put the woeful Saints side 3-0 down within 15 minutes.
Russell Martin opted to switch to a back three after this early dismal display, sacrificing the out of favour Kamaldeen Sulemana for Nathan Wood.
However, this switch did not stop Tottenham’s rampant performance, as Pape Sarr danced through challenges in the box to grab yet another for Spurs.
And on the brink of half time, after Martin had already headed down the tunnel, Maddison secured his second of the evening, finishing from the tightest of angles, which was met to a chorus of boos from Saints fans, and calls for Martin to be sacked.
The second half was much less action-packed, as Spurs took off captain Son and took their foot off the gas, while the Saints continued to play from the back, but to no avail.
As the final whistle blew, more boos rung around St Mary’s, shortly followed by chants of “We want Martin out!” from the Southampton faithful – and these wishes were met by the board, as Martin was dismissed later in the evening.
The result leaves Southampton on five points, guaranteeing them to be bottom at Christmas.
Meanwhile, Spurs jumped up to 10th place, five points off the top four and with a significantly higher goal difference of +17.
End of the road for Martin
Russell Martin’s 18-month tenure as Southampton manager came to an end, as he was sacked late Sunday evening after a poor performance against Spurs.
Martin took over in June 2023 after Saints’ relegation to the Championship.
Despite a difficult start to their 2nd tier campaign, Martin reignited belief and spirit into the Southampton fans and players, leading the team to a 25-game unbeaten run and a playoff final victory against Leeds in the summer.
However, since their promotion to the top flight, Southampton have looked like a shell of their former selves.
Martin’s free flowing and comfortable performances in the Championship were unable to be translated into the Premier League.
Their Man City-esque style of football of playing out from the back led to them conceding 10 times from their own errors, more than any other team has suffered.
With Martin’s stubbornness and no sign of the situation improving, fans quickly turned on the Scotsman in search of change, either of style or personnel.
Things really came to a head in the Spurs clash, as banners were present in the crowd reading ‘R.M. GET OUT OF OUR CLUB’ and plenty of chants were directed towards the Saints technical area.
As Southampton search for a new manager, U21 coach Simon Rusk will take over as interim manager during the busy festive period, as they face Liverpool at home again in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
Strong Spurs Showing
Following a difficult set of results in previous weeks, Spurs got back to winning ways with this thumping of Southampton.
Ange Postecoglu had been under pressure due to these unsatisfactory results, but this ruthless rout of the Saints would have been a great watch for both himself and the travelling fans.
In midweek, the Spurs boss had heavily criticized his players for their lackluster displays, most notably Timo Werner who has continually struggled in a Tottenham shirt since his arrival.
And this evening fixture posed the perfect opportunity for the Lilywhites to get back into form.
And they did exactly that, with their fiery start and persistence to create chances throughout the first half, securing all three points before the second half even started.
As they eased their pressure in the second half, Spurs still looked solid, creating a few decent chances, and even had the chance to bring on youngsters Alfie Dorrington and Will Lankshear.
Despite sitting mid table at the minute, they are only five points off the top four with an enormous goal difference compared to the clubs around them, so only a few more positive results like this would put them well back in the race for those coveted Champions League spots