Southampton defender James Bree has been speaking to the media about his love for Russell Martin and his hope that the manager will stick around, but is he just trying to get back in Martin's good books after blatantly ignoring his tactical instructions.

James Bree has told The Daily Echo that the Southampton squad love Russell Martin and that they all want him to stick around

“I think every win is good for the gaffer" Said Bree

“We all love him in there. We want him to stick around because he does so much good stuff for us.

“We all love him for what he did for us last year, the way we play and how he is as a person. Hopefully, we can get a win for him on the weekend and settle all that down a little bit.

“It’s massive for the boys. I think we’ve got a really, really good group. We’re all very tight and close and good mates. We do try and stay as positive as possible.”

However after this piece of massive toadying up to the manager, it is being claimed that this is nothing more than a ploy to get himself back into Martin's good books after Bree blatantly ignored the manager's instructions in the final minutes of the game against Stoke City on Tuesday evening.

Those watching the game where in no doubt that Saints were playing to the manager's orders to the letter, the tactic was to keep passing the ball and passing it again until eventually it would get to an unmarked Saints player in the six yard box.

It was all going well until the 88th minute when James Bree suddenly ignored his manager's instruction completely, the ball fell to him 25 yards out and he had plenty of options on to pass it sideways or even backwards,, so there was no excuse to launch a speculative effort from that distance.

Saints had plenty of players in and around the box who were waiting patiently for another 25 passes to be completed before an aimless cross into the box, it was only a matter of time before that happened, there was just no need for Bree to press the panic button and shoot.

But hours of practice on the training ground was suddenly wasted, as James Bree went completely off piste and let fly.

If Russell Martin was not already hacked off because he had to sit in the stands for this game, his blood pressure must have gone through the roof as the ball nestled in the bottom corner, Bree's team mates were clearly shocked and he was left to celebrate alone, with none of the rest of the Saints team willing to condone such a blatant ignoring of the manager's instructions by even offering as much as a brief handshake.

The big question now though, is just what James Bree's punishment will be for his major faux pas, sources at St Mary's have told us that although this is his second offence, Bree did something similar at Cardiff City a couple of months ago when he fired in a shot from distance in injury time which proved to be the winning goal in a 5-3 win, that he will not be fined.

After his initial anger had subsided it's believed that Martin will opt for rehabilitation rather than retribution.

After the Cardiff game, rather than being fined, Bree was dropped for the next game and replaced by Jack Stephens and our sources say that is 100% what will happen this time, but Bree will also have to do extra training in which he will have to hone up his abilities to pass sideways along the half way line as well as write 500 lines saying "I must not make passes forward"

All Photos Via Reuters

stmichael added 11:13 - Oct 31 He’s telling the media and the supporters that the players are behind him and it’s about time we got behind him too. Forest were abysmal in their first season back. There fans had a decision to make.. Ridicule and get on their backs or try and make the city ground a fortress.. They did the latter and stayed up due to some great home results.. Our pathetic support have made their mind up too including many who should Know a lot better.

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beynali73 added 11:16 - Oct 31 Very funny article :)
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HythePeer added 11:22 - Oct 31 LOL!
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SaintNick added 11:24 - Oct 31 St Michael, lets be honest, at the games the fans have been behind him, I have not heard any abuse towards him either home or away, but the situation is a lot different here than at Forest, we are watching a team that is making constant errors due to overplaying, something has to change
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stmichael added 12:46 - Oct 31 Nick to be fair he hasn’t had much abuse at games only on social Media. But I think the Leicester game it turned and toxicity is settling in. I think we have an entitled fan base with unrealistic expectations. 17th was always going to be a massive success and probably unachievable. Forest fans knew what they were and supported through thick and thin.. Back at the dell we were the same - not any more it seems..

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Bowlercow added 13:30 - Oct 31 Reading this was winding me up like a clockwork mouse until I accepted that it was sarcasm at its best I can't tell you how much I want him to turn it around but I feat it may already be too late Even I have made a list of possible successors Carrick,Potter or if he leaves Utd Ruud van Nistleroyg
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Nidger added 13:31 - Oct 31 I did say to my son that I expect Bree will get a bollocking from Martin for doing that.
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JoeEgg added 13:50 - Oct 31 This whole thing is reaching ridiculous proportions. The 'we all love Russell and Russell loves us' is quite pathetic to read from a professional footballer. I suggest that we all wait to see just how much Everton and Wolves love Russell!!
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TripleNiemi added 15:01 - Oct 31 We’re all very ‘tight’ and ‘close mates’. No doubt the manager is included with this statement. Have another few days off lads, you’ve earnt it.
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codge added 15:02 - Oct 31 Thanks for the laugh made my 80th birthday today fun 👍
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Colburn added 19:16 - Oct 31 Happy 80th birthday Codge! I get the humour although I think Martin is very happy to see us shooting from outside the box if it opens up, I could be wrong and maybe he has alluded to not liking efforts from distance. I think having a throw in near the oppo box and it ending up with our centre backs in our own half is my bugbear. On a serious note, it was his first touch opening up the space to shoot which impresses me. I think he’s an excellent footballer and deserves more minutes. I’m a big fan

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underweststand added 19:19 - Oct 31 I think most players might have said the same thing. For a team that is still struggling for a League win, they appreciate that it's Martin's job that is on the line (as they all sit with good contracts). I think even the teams' hardest critics would admit that at times we have played some great football - even against top sides - but we lack consistency over a 99 minute period, and even the hard-bitten media types on TV have admitted that we have had more than our share of bad luck, dodgy refereeing and VAR Fluffs. One good win would put us on track and more of the summer signings will get more comfortable with Russball.

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Block8 added 06:57 - Nov 1 I resemble those remarks, nice bit of journalistic licence Nick. I like it 👍
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landsdownsaint added 07:44 - Nov 1 Rm has made it politicaly incorrect to insult his management , if this was any other manager they’d be out by now with severe verbal abuse … vegan ain’t he .
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DoctorSleep added 12:28 - Nov 1 Thought it was Halloween rather than Aprils Fool :-)
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Block8 added 10:00 - Nov 2 DoctorSleep it feels like halloween every game we play. Scares the sh*t out of me anyway!
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