Leeds United to face Southampton at ‘ideal time’ says Adam Pope after BBC colleague moots Russell Martin sack decision
It is the “ideal” time for Leeds United to face Southampton with Russell Martin under pressure, according to Adam Pope.
The BBC Leeds journalist said on Don’t Go To Bed Just Yet (25 September) that he understands there is more “good will” towards the Saints boss than unpopular predecessor Nathan Jones last season, but asked “please keep him” for the Whites clash on Saturday (30 September).
BBC colleague Jonny Buchan had mooted the prospect of a caretaker manager or a “new man in charge by that point” when Daniel Farke takes his buoyant side to St. Mary’s at the weekend, with Martin having lost four on the bounce.
Buchan said (26m 40s): “You then look at next week and think Southampton, if they’ve still got Russell Martin in charge you can go at it.
“If they haven’t, different prospect maybe because they’re back on home soil, it might be a caretaker in charge, might be a new man in charge by that point. Who knows, but it’d be better if they kept him.”
Simon Rix replied: “They’ve got to haven’t they? If they’ve made that decision they’ve got to give him more than that otherwise you’re just chopping a changing.”
Pope added: “Our colleague down at BBC Solent, Adam Blackmore, wrote a long piece about the situation at Southampton and he said the difference between Martin and Nathan Jones, who was pretty much despised by the time he’d left, was that Nathan Jones kept going on about what a good coach he was and his past record.
“Russell Martin doesn’t do that and he has a really good [or] decent record. So I would say there’s probably more good will towards him, but don’t forget they’ve lost [Tino} Livramento, [Romeo] Lavia and [James] Ward-Prowse.
“They did start off alright, and I know they had one or two of those players, and it’s gone, but I’d still expect them to come back. But yes, please keep him this week because I think it’s an ideal time for Leeds to play them.”
Wounded animal
Clearly Southampton are struggling and Leeds United are now looking increasingly confident, but they have to avoid any complacency for the trip to the south coast.
The Saints squad won’t need reminding that both teams were in the same boat in being relegated from the Premier League this summer, so the direct comparison could spark a greater reaction to their poor run.
If a change were made in the dug-out then it would be very difficult to say what the response might be from the hosts, but just eight games into the season it would be extremely early to sack Martin.
The last time Farke took his players south for an early kick-off in a rivalry game he came away from Millwall with another important 3-0 win on 17 September.
And with the likes of Georginio Rutter, Ethan Ampadu, Joel Piroe and Dan James all in fantastic form the German will surely be confident heading into this one.
But, whoever is in the opposing dug-out he will surely have to be clear with his players that they can’t allow for any drop in intensity as he looks to continue an encouraging unbeaten run.
In other Leeds United news, a Premier League legend has blasted a player who contributed to the Whites relegation after a latest embarrassment.