According to the latest reports, Russell Martin is on thin ground and should he lose at Bournemouth then it could be a new man in the dug out for the trip to Arsenal and that man is Graham Potter.

givemesport.com have reported that Saints are on the verge of replacing Russell Martin.

They say that with Everton having beaten Crystal Palace on Saturday and jumping above Southampton in the table, this has changed the outlook of the board and that should Saints lose to Bournemouth then they will make a change within hours.

They claim that talks may well have already taken place and if that is the case you would feel that it is only a matter of time before a change is made.

If Ipswich were to lose to Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon, that would perhaps also drive another nail into Martin's future at the club.

But a victory over Bournemouth would lift Saints out of the bottom 4 and also bring the Cherries into the relegation dog fight.

If any of those making the decisions at St Mary's were watching Wolves defeat to Liverpool on Saturday evening they would have heard Gary Neville's scathing attack on Wolves possession football game, if we thought that we were poor and didn't have the personnel to play possession football, then Wolves were appalling and this will have made the Southampton hierarchy jumpy.

Wolves were lucky in that Liverpool missed a few chances, but on another day it could have been different.

So this is an important week for Russell Martin, he may get a stay of execution on Monday evening, but then he will face one of the top 3 teams in the country, who may not be as accommodating as the teams we have met so far.

Some will say it is harsh on Russell Martin to be talking about sacking him after only 5 games, after all he did get us promoted last season, but that happened because he was forced to water down his tactics, the hope was that he would learn a lesson or two, but that has not been the case so far this season, although there were some hopeful signs in the game against Ipswich.

But the issue here is that he is trying to play these tactics with players that are not good enough to do so at this level, he is not adapting his tactics to the abilities of his squad, he is resolutely imposing his way or no way and sadly I think that the Southampton hierarchy have seen that and may feel that they have to make a change sooner than later.

So on Monday night at the Vitality Stadium, Russell Martin does not just have to win the game, he has to show that he has adapted his tactics to fit the situation and that he will do so at the Emirates on Saturday.

No one is asking him to abandon his principles, just to "adapt" but is he capable of doing that ? That is the big question, good managers who survive in the Premier League, know that they can't take on the likes of Manchester City and play them at their own game.

This is not just with possession football, it has been the case for as long as football has been played and the worry for Southampton whether it is the board or the supporters is that Russell Martin is just too stubborn to change.

This will be the thinking in the St Mary's boardroom, can they see Russell Martin changing and if not can they see his tactics winning enough games to keep us up, that is the big big question.

So will Graham Potter who had a short period at the club as a player in 1996/97 and played only a handful of games, but one of those games was the 6-3 defeat at the Dell of the then invincible Manchester United in the October of that season.

Potter was a 70th minute substitute, coming on as Saints defended a slender 3-2 lead with Egil Ostenstad & Eyal Berkovic orchestrating a 3 goal salvo in the final 7 minutes with Paul Scholes also scoring for the visitors in the explosive finish.

Graham Potter would be a popular choice with Southampton supporters, but that is mainly based on his 3 years at Brighton where he steered them from being relegation candidates to the top 10, but during that time he trod a fine line with Brighton supporters who were critical at times of his tactics and his time at Chelsea showed that he did not have the nous to manage a top side,

He has now been out of the game for 18 months and is believed to have turned down several managerial posts including Leicester City in the summer.

This will be an interesting week for Southampton Football Club and one that may well shape the rest of the season.

Photo: Action Images

davidargyll added 09:55 - Sep 29 I’ve long been an advocate of booting out RM asap because he simply is not up to the task of running a PL club. Forget about his inability to get his team selections, set-up and subs right, what all the “give-him-more-time” merchants seem to be forgetting is that last season we got promoted despite letting in 63 goals, which was 14th in the league! Now if anyone tells me that was produced from a style of play that will be successful in the Premier League, I will respond by saying you're clearly smoking the wrong sort of cigarettes. To hell with not scoring enough goals - although it would be a bonus if we could! - teams get relegated not because they don’t score enough, but because they let too many in. And without a change in management it is a racing certainty that is the way we are going.

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mgprobert added 10:39 - Sep 29 "could be set to make a Premier League return if Martin, 38, does not improve the Saints’ results" was the report I read... its not rocket science to speculate that a manager could be sacked if they get bad results - just throw a few out of work or promising managers into the ring - good for a few clicks
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IanRC added 11:12 - Sep 29 Time to wake up and smell the coffee. We have ‘enjoyed’ a relatively easy start to the season avoiding the ‘big’ teams and we have one point. Where exactly are we supposed to find the other 39 points we probably need to survive ? I thought the board should have looked at Potter previously so I do hope this rumour is true. Sure I would like Martin to succeed and for us to find safety but hard to see that happening. There have been a few more signs in recent games that we have been prepared to clear our lines but does anyone seriously think that he would have dropped Jack Stephens if he had not been suspended. Martin sadly appears to be well out of his depth.

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landsdownsaint added 11:33 - Sep 29 Needs to happen quickly , we got a bunch of players who are good enough to stay up this season but unfortunately not under RM . He’s done a good job at saints but time for both parties to move on
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highfield49 added 12:32 - Sep 29 These rumours are usually ridiculously simplistic aren't they? So Graham Potter has seemingly agreed that if we lose at Bournemouth then he should be at Staplewood for a 0900 start on Tuesday but if we win then he can have a lie in for a few days until we lose at Arsenal? The results and performance are hardly going to influence whether or not GP has agreed a contract to manage the team.

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saintmark1976 added 13:11 - Sep 29 Spot on highfield49. Personally I don’t agree that Martin should be replaced irrespective of Monday’s result. However, to suggest that he stays on if we win one game but goes if we lose is frankly ridiculous. If that is the level of our Owners and Boards decision making process it’s not difficult to understand why we were relegated from The Premiership in the first place.

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JoeEgg added 13:58 - Sep 29 Irrespective of the Bournemouth result I have called many times for Graham Potter to be given the chance at St Marys. Martin isn't going to change and we do not have the players to execute successfully his style of play. For the manager to insist that Stephens, Smallbone and Adam Armstrong are going to effective at Premier League level is also ridiculous. He has stubbornly decided to stick with his favourites and described recent individual performances as 'brilliant' despite earning us just one point against teams that are nowhere near the best we shall have to play soon. We do have a few really good players who in the right hands might just help turn things around and bring on the youngsters and other inexperienced squad members. Nothing is guaranteed but I'm sure most of the players will feel more comfortable under Potter than tippy tappying their way with Martin.

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Bowlercow added 13:59 - Sep 29 Over my many years as a Saints supporter I have heard ( and since social media) read some real rubbish This story and some of the comments on here go to the top of the list for pure drivel If you do some research you will find that givemesport.com are quoting from a story published by an on line magazine called football Insider Their journalist has published his thoughts about what could happen as fact It is very weak journalism I could make up a story quoting an unnamed source that Potter has decided never to return to football management but is set to become a tv pundit starting with a game on the south coast because that's where he lives I am even more surprised at you Nick for repeating this drivel

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underweststand added 15:30 - Sep 29 I'm re-reading your article ( Nick) and are confused by the statement ..if Ipswich were to LOSE to Villa - it would be bad for RM? .Looking at league table surely a defeat for Ipswich would give a breathing space for RM / Saints...? ... as they are just above us. I have to agree with Bowlercow (above) I also noted the original posting, (football insider) and don't place much credibility to it. It reminds me of some football student who is running a site from a PC in his bedroom....and trying to be first past the post.

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kenis added 15:59 - Sep 29 Potter won’t come to saints unless he gets turned down for Utd, Spurs and England, and he’d chose Everton over us (new owners, stadium, club size etc). f we sack RM (which I hope we don’t / don’t have to - ie I hope we start picking up wins and points) it will likely be a manager with little prem experience, if any, unless Everton sack Dyche, and he was willing to come in, he might be able to keep us up, but the shift in style etc would be seismic and such big shifts in approach and style don’t often work. Keeping the faith with Martin makes most sense and a cold hard decision based on data (xg/ expected points etc) at the start of each international breaks and equivalent gaps will keep being made each time until a change is made

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kevleykeegle added 16:42 - Sep 29 Why are you repeating such nonsense?!This sites really gone downhill in the last few weeks. Maybe you’re desperate for clicks too.
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felly1 added 17:11 - Sep 29 All Managers Martin included will inevitably face the bullet if you don't pick up results. Is it just me or have I missed something as I'm sure in both the Man Utd and Ipswich game we have clearly adapted our style and in particular the arrival of Ramsdale has seen a more direct approach mixed with the possession football. Does anyone honestly believe Potter would come to a hotly tipped relegation fodder side like ours?

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Colburn added 17:42 - Sep 29 Seems like a bizarre scenario to suggest to Potter he’s in if we lose on Monday but not if we win. Sounds ridiculous! That said I agree that Martins refusal to learn and adapt will be his downfall. I’d be over the moon if we were able to bring Potter in but it seems unlikely even though he is the Sky Sports studio pundit for tomorrow night!
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ssxsaint added 18:15 - Sep 29 Why would Potter come?
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abingdonsaint added 19:25 - Sep 29 This sounds like nonsense. So the manager specifically hired to play possession football, where every subsequent signing and coaching appointment aligns to that style, is going to be sacked for playing possession football?
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SaintPaulVW added 20:11 - Sep 29 Who are givemesport.com?
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saintjeff52 added 11:18 - Sep 30 Results this weekend were not the best for us. Everton winning, now with their future seemingly sorted. Leicester showed why they are unlikely to be relegated. A fine performance from them at a Top 3 side. Ipswich have only lost 2 games, city, and Liverpool, Top 3 Sides, and drawn 4. At times yesterday they out battled Villa, and Liam Delap looks to be the kind of Striker that we should have gone for. He's capable, and his Goals might keep Ipswich up. Ironically, Ipswich's lucky point against us was a game they should have lost, but for our inability to score enough goals, and see out games. I have a feeling that we will Win tonight, and move up to 16th. Hoping for a good performance with us seeing out the game. As for Potter, I would like to see him here, should RM oversee many more 'Suicide Football' disasters, ( It's not just us, Chelsea conceded a couple of needless goals Saturday, but had a quality finisher to win the Game ) Ten Hag will be on his way soon, and I'm sure that Potter will have eyes on that Appointment. Regardless of whether he comes here or not, with fixtures against Arsenal, Leicester, and City up next, we really need to beat B'mth Potter is the guest on Sky's Monday Night Football tonight. Those mischievous Sky Presenters, and Pundits, might know something we don't😂

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blubberboy added 11:40 - Oct 2 Hard to see why someone like Potter would come to a club that's only heading in one direction. Personally, I expect a much improved performance (albeit in defeat) against Arsenal off the back of which RM will probably get a stay of execution. He has shown he's a decent manager who CAN tweak things occasionally, but unfortunately this bunch of players isn't good enough. That said, I would love to see someone with PL experience brought in to see what they could do with them as I’m convinced we should be better. Taking a punt on another Championship manager with no top flight PL experience has to be the worst thing the club could do right now.

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