Southampton star defends Russell Martin, encouraging fans to reconsider

Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis has jumped to Russell Martin's defence. He has encouraged Saints fans to change how they watch games.

Russell Martin is being given a lot of time to prove himself at Southampton. Despite not putting points on the board, the Saints boss has been handed plenty of leeway from the owners.

As it stands, Southampton fans have essentially accepted that Russell Martin isn't going anywhere. The Saints are rock-bottom of the table and the favourites to go down, yet the board are willing to stick by the manager.

It is not only the board, either. In the buildup to the upcoming match against Aston Villa, Taylor Harwood-Bellis has defended Russell Martin.

Southampton star Taylor Harwood-Bellis defends Russell Martin

According to a report the Daily Echo, Taylor Harwood-Bellis sees no problem in Russell Martin encouraging his team to play out from the back. He has also insisted that what Southampton are doing is working - Fans only need to change the way they watch the game, in his opinion.

In his own words, Harwood-Bellis said: "We're doing things that are working if you watch the game back - actually watch it, not just as a fan, but football-wise and tactically in terms of what we should be doing... It's not (insane to play out the back), there's just times to do it. I'm a fan of a club - I know what fans want. It's going to be scary when we're playing the ball around the back, of course."

It is true that there are times to play out from the back and times not to. However, what Taylor Harwood-Bellis didn't address is that there are also players who can play out from the back versus players who simply can't.

Unfortunately, there aren't many players at Southampton with the composure to play out from the back. This is exactly the reason why many of the goals conceded by Southampton this season came from defensive errors.

Managers can be very stubborn. Of course, this isn't entirely a bad trait and it's the reason why they find themselves in a position of authority.

So, if Russell Martin wants to insist on having his defenders play out from the back, this is all well and good but only if new signings are made in the January transfer window. We need to sign players who are able to remain composed at the back during build-up play.

READ MORE SOUTHAMPTON NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS & GOSSIP...