Aldar: Russell Martin is
receiving a lot of stick for ‘lack of pragmatism’. We heard this song all last
season about Kompany. Well, he’s at Bayern Munich now, only one of the biggest
clubs in the world, so worked out for him just fine. Why shouldn’t a young
coach stick to principles that have won him success in the past no matter the
cost, develop players in a more progressive system, and get himself on a
shortlist for a top job in management? It’s not like ‘pragmatism’ is a magic
guarantee of safety and success, or is it?

Morning, Aldar. I think
is a real double-edged sword. Russell Martin has a style and set of principles
that he is determined to stick to and I thought Southampton looked very good
until Cameron Archer missed the penalty against Manchester United.

I don’t happen to think
Martin will change his approach, which is admirable, but if you are constantly
losing this cannot be an enjoyable experience for him, his players or
Southampton’s fans, which is why I believe an element of pragmatism has to come
in, unless results come of course, if Saints want to stay in the Premier
League.

Vincent Kompany did the
same at Burnley last season, refusing to budge on style, and it was a
thoroughly miserable season for them. The players who played in such a fashion
to stroll to the Championship were not good enough to pull it off in the
Premier League.

As I said, I thought
Southampton looked really good for 35 minutes on Saturday and Martin will
believe if they play like that against teams in and around them, and in the
middle of the table, they will get results.

I honestly believe the
Kompany appointment was a bit freakish because Bayern Munich messed up their
search for a new manager, even trying to persuade Thomas Tuchel to stay after
announcing he was leaving.

It’s a great job for
Kompany and there will be no excuses for failure.