Saints gained their first victory of the Premier League season at the 10th attempt, so what changed on Saturday ? Was it down to the manager, the tactics & the players, or was it all just down to luck.

There was something a little different in the way that Southampton played against Everton to claim a vital 1-0 victory, that took them off the bottom of the table and within sight of safety, but what was it down to, that is the big question.

For the first 9 games of the Premier League season, Saints have been an accident waiting to happen in each game, as they conceded goal after goal that was down to errors resulting from the possession football tactics that saw us getting constantly closed down and losing the ball as we tried to pass it in situations that were clearly too tight to do so in.

Against Everton we seemed to have adapted these tactic a little from the previous 9 games, yes we still passed the ball around, too much on some occasions, but we stopped short of some of the kamikaze passes along our own back line that have characterised this season so far.

But whose decision was it to change the tactics a little, has Russell Martin finally woken up and smelled the roses as they say and realised that if he stuck obstinately to his guns, then his tenure at St Mary's could be measured in hours if he lost this game.

You would hope that this is the case, Martin has always said he is learning along the way in football management and that was always going to be the case in his first season as a manager in the Premier League.

The hope at the start of the season was that he would realise quickly that in order for Saints to survive then he would have to adapt his tactics to suit the squad he had at his disposal, rather than try to force them to play possession football when their instincts told them otherwise. but it was soon realised that was not going to be the case and we watched game after game where the players played to his orders and kept losing the ball after trying to play in tight situations that were quite frankly not on.

Saturday's win seemed to have a subtle change, when we needed to clear the ball we did so, we didn't try to keep passing as in previous games, I would hope that was down to Russell Martin, but there is also that nagging doubt that it wasn't so much the manager, but more down to the players themselves. Did the senior experienced members of the squad lead by example and follow their instincts.

In truth not a lot changed, but just clearing our lines when needed was enough for us to earn our first clean sheet of the season, not just in the Premier League, but in any competition, although we did have to ride our luck on more than a few occasions.

The team looked far more comfortable than they have done all season, yes this wasn't a great performance in terms of creating chances, but things were never going to turn completely around in the space of one game, it was always going to be about small steps forward, gaining the first win and building on it.

This we did and we earned the win on hard work from every player in the squad and that was the most positive thing on show.

One thing that no one can accuse our squad of is a lack of effort, that has always been there, the team have battled for their manager and that bodes well for the upcoming games.

But will Russell Martin now build on the foundations of this game, or will he tear them apart and insist his players revert back to the full on tactics of the opening games of this season.

I have read some negative comments about the win over Everton, some Saints supporters have expressed some disappointment in it, from the perspective that it has kept Russell Martin in a job for another week.

Whilst everyone is entitled to their own opinion, this is not my viewpoint, yes I have been critical of the manager, but in the long term I would prefer him to succeed rather than fail and that goes for every Southampton manager or player for that matter.

Of course there are those that I am not so fond of as others, but I would rather Russell Martin win the next 3 games with Jack Stephens as man of the match in each, than lose them all.

So on to Wolverhampton Wanderers next week and hopefully another step forward in the right direction.

All Photos Via Reuters

onetowatch added 09:56 - Nov 4 I certainly wouldn't disagree with anything you mention in your repot Nick, but I do think it's a generic overview and omits some key issues which need to be addressed if we are going to give ourselves a genuine chance of survival: - 5 across the back , at home, to fellow strugglers is not going to help. - If RM honestly believes Manning is a better option on the left side of defence than Charlie Taylor, then he shouldn't be involved with football in any shape or form, let alone manage a PL club. - JSs distribution in the 2nd half was a liability time after time. I want to resist criticising individuals like this, but we can't afford not to play our best 11 week after week..... I just can't believe RM can't see any of this....but come next weeks selection, we can already predict who will be in.... This result has to be a start, a stepping stone to improved results....not a one off

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Bowlercow added 10:24 - Nov 4 25 seconds from them hitting the cross bar to us scoring That's what changed against Everton We continued to play the possession game but we did it quicker Or were we allowed to do it quicker? We had 65% of the ball agains t a team that will definitely be in the relegation battle Come January the emphasis must be on reducing the size of the squad so that RM doesn't feel he has to please so many players

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stmichael added 10:42 - Nov 4 Both our goal and the Cameron Archer chance came because we didn’t just lump It under pressure.. We played .. Every time we lumped it we lost it and were immediately under pressure.. Our fans need to understand the football we play and why we do it. Risk and reward.. The reward on Saturday was the winning goal which started in our own penalty area..
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abingdonsaint added 11:09 - Nov 4 It’s easy to overanalyse these things, but virtually every match is decided by fine margins. We would have beaten Ipswich if their deflected shot went a foot further to the right! We probably should have had more points this season, and the only real difference this time is that we got the breaks. Simple as that.
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JoeEgg added 11:31 - Nov 4 I dont think there was any need for a long article - as abingdonsaint puts it - this time we got the breaks. Against Ipswich and Leicester we didn't! You can search for other minor differences but in the bigger picture nothing changes. The alternative to Russell-ball is not 'just lump it'. I would have much more confidence watching Bournemouth's positive and energetic approach, than our slow hesitant sideways and backwards build up. Bournemouth have produced a style of play that suits the manager and their players. We have adopted a style that apparently keeps Martin happy but in my opinion still doesn't get the best out of our players. But Its all about opinions though - the Wolves game will be another that can probably turn either way. Somehow I just dont think we have the forwards to score enough goals no matter how we play!

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sfcsuperfan added 13:22 - Nov 4 This was a game we just had to win. For the 1st 40 minutes I was so frustrated with our slow build ups and lack of invention. Saints did improve for the last 5 minutes of the half and we created a few chances. 2nd half was an improvement , and for once lady luck was on our side and the big decisions went our way . Sadly playing out for the back and passing sideways is so boring to watch. The gap between defence and attack is so large that it takes an age to get forward . We need to make better and more runs and give our players on the ball more options allowing the team the pass forward . Sadly we let go 2 midfielders ( Alcaraz and stuart Armstrong ) who when getting the ball could turn and drive forward , maybe Fernandes can replace one. We also need to mix it up , so that we are not so predictable as currently it is too easy to defend against us. Great to quadruple our points total and lets hope we can get something at Wolves.

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Farlow added 14:06 - Nov 4 I think we,ve played far better this season and lost.This time lady luck was with us. I Thought we were a lot better when he took off his mates Stephens and Manning. Surely Sukawara should have started.Pleased for Adam Armstrong i always think he,s worth playing out wide and puts in a shift was probably disgarded a little too quickly given his goals secured promotion.
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landsdownsaint added 14:07 - Nov 4 We shouldnt have won that game we was awful ! As were Everton . If it was t for our defence & KWP ability turn a defender inside out they’d be nothing and it were t long ago clueless RM had him on the bench . RM is a possession academy coach
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