After Southampton's 0-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest in the 2nd round of the Premier League, Southampton manager Russell Martin was interviewed to give a full analysis of his team's performance and look at ways to improve for the future.
Regarding the first half of the game, Russell Martin admitted that his team was affected by the tension: "We did feel a lot of pressure in the first half, which led to fluctuations in our performance. After the other team's goal, we had to start catching up and the game became more open as a result. Even though it looked like we had the chance to cause some trouble, in the end we couldn't capitalize on our chances."
Speaking about the performance on the offensive end, Russell Martin appeared quite annoyed: "We are clearly not as good as our opponents in terms of quality on the offensive end, which is very disappointing to me. In particular, we made mistakes on set-pieces, knowing that we've put a lot of effort into this area. I'm very frustrated with this result."
Looking back at the whole game, Russell Martin said that his team had both highlights and shortcomings: "We had the upper hand in the game for a while, but the other team also seized some counter-attacking opportunities. Especially in the two passing chances, our players just stood there and watched without reacting properly. This is something we need to reflect on and improve. However, I also saw enough great moments to feel encouraged. I'm sure we can get out of the slump if we can keep our confidence and put in more effort."
Finally, Russell Martin emphasized the importance of mindset adjustment: "What we need now is a goal to get everyone to relax. I understand that there may still be some nerves lingering after the last game, but we have to learn to overcome it. Our performance was actually pretty good, and as long as everyone can put down their burdens and lighten up, I'm sure we'll be able to achieve better results."
