Well on the plus side we stopped the flow of goals into our net, but aside from this, here was a game where an Ipswich side had a game plan and stuck to it and of course there was the obligatory get caught in possession moment from Saints.

Perhaps this was always going to be a game of small steps hopefully leading to a bigger one, certainly the first 30 minutes were encouraging for Saints, firstly they didn't concede in the opening minute of the game and indeed they had the best of the opening half hour with Adam Armstrong and Che Adams both seeing good chances go just wide.

But on the half hour mark came yet another goal conceded due to being caught in possession and giving the ball away, Shea Charles the culprit on this one and within seconds the ball was played through to Hutchinson who gave Bazunu no chance.

Now the die was cast, Ipswich got two solid lines behind the ball at all times and waited for the Saints to give away the ball and attack on the break.

Here was another plus point in that we didn't get caught on the break as we have done so many times already this season, we dealt with it and tried to build up our own attacks, but we are a team lacking in confidence and although we edged the game in terms of possession, we were wary of getting caught on the counter and didn't over commit and that made it difficult to create and indeed score.

So we took a few small steps in this game, but the bigger steps were not to follow just yet.

So where did it go wrong in this game, there wasn't much argument about the starting line up, although a few eyebrows were raised about Joe Aribo, certainly when the first change was made on 56 minutes, a triple one, it seemed to make us stronger.

But there were too many players out there playing with fear, the fear of getting caught on the break was perhaps the biggest, but that wasn't the only one, the fear of giving the ball away, the fear of the crowd on the back, all of this in my opinion saw a team full of players with no confidence to play the killer ball, it was about basics and doing the basics is often not good viewing although it keeps the scoreline down.

But the main issue out there is our fear of not following instructions, we are scared of putting our foot through the ball when it is needed, we are always looking to play the pass, when we are closed down we still look to play it even when it isn't on, sometimes you just have to launch it.

Shea Charles was the man caught out this time, but a look at the video shows that although he had the ball at his feet, there was absolutely none of his team mates on for a pass, he was looking for them, but they weren't there and in that split second Ipswich pounced.

Earlier in the season we would have had players moving off the ball and demanding it, certainly Ipswich did, but that has gone out of game, the fear has kicked in, we are not flowing, our players don't want the ball, they are now more concerned about not getting caught out.

Yes Shea Charles was the man caught out, but he was given no help by his team mates.

There was a feeling of panic walking out of St Mary's after the game, the owners, the manager getting a lot of stick, but the truth is there is a long way to go in this season, we have had a lot of squad upheaval, we have to give the manager time to get things right, to be blunt he has barely had six weeks with the bulk of this squad, as August decimated the squad in the transfer window.

He has to be given the chance if only for the reason that we have no other choice.

Sport Republic have had a lot of criticism, but they have made the money available, yes they have made mistakes, the first one in my opinion was sacking Ralph Hasenhuttl, the second appointing Nathan Jones and then appointing Ruben Selles.

You have to ask whether they bowed to public opinion on all three of these decisions, that was their fourth error, they didn't back their own conviction.

Now they have to back Russell Martin and show the courage of their convictions, we lack a leader on the pitch, they have to show that hey can lead off it, certainly now we have a Director of Football in Jason Wilcox hopefully they will, one thing is for sure if we keep pressing the panic button everything goes wrong it is a recipe for disaster.

I see people commenting on line that the manager has had 7 games and that is enough to judge him, I have seen people saying that after a dozen games that will be enough, both are wrong, at present we are in the middle of a bad run, but we are still only a win away from the play off spots, this is nowhere near terminal.

It is time for cool heads, in the boardroom, in the dressing room, on the pitch and in the stands, I would add on social media as well, but that is never going to happen..

If the Southampton board had listened to the fans in 1974/75 season then our history would be much different !

I am not trying to dress this up in any way, at the end of the day it is three straight defeats and that is not good, but it is not the first time I have seen that happen at Southampton FC and I am sure that it won't be the last.

A few weeks ago there was much optimism, now that seems to have evaporated, I am not going to tell anyone what they should do, but myself I'm going to keep calm and give this manager a chance, no one said this would be easy.

Photo: Action Images

SaintPaulVW added 13:58 - Sep 20 I some times feel a bit bemused. The game I watched doesn't appear to be the game that most other people saw. I saw a team coming off 2 heavy defeats play fairly well. There was a dumb error but aside from that we were on top for long periods. To my eyes, with a bit of luck, a draw would have been an equally fair result. Definite progress from 2 really dire showings. After the debacle last season, I think we just have to go along with what is on the pitch for a while. Support what is good and try not to overreact to every mistake or deviation from the perfect performance playing in our heads. Even Man City , probably the best run club in the world atm, don't score with every attack, take time to get most players bedded in to their role and also let in goals. We have a new team, manager and style. Agreed, some of the passing is too slow - but it isn't meant to be. The lashed together CB pairing is a bit of a hurdle for now. This creates issues for the full backs. The best midfield combo is still a work in progress. 3 games ago a good chunk of the players used last night didn't know where they would be employed. It's all going to take a bit of time. However, I'm not sure I can wait several seasons. I would like to see a sustained improvement in performance and results in the second half of this season, so small steps towards that are welcome, where that leads who knows? COYR

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Big_T added 16:44 - Sep 20 Should have stuck with Selles, the players liked him he played a reasonable attractive attacking style of football. A year in the championship honing his skills and tree and I think he could have done a good job. RM ? I'm not so sure , he has a lot to learn about entertainment imo Oh what was that Reading's young bankrupt inexperienced team won 9-0 ( they didn't do it with possession)

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Big_T added 16:51 - Sep 20 Edit It's says tree in my post , I meant trade;-) Dom Ballard got 2 goals
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livsgrandad added 18:20 - Sep 20 We're getting better, i dont think... team selection BAD.. young smallbone should not be a key midfielder,hes out of his depth...hes ok wih experience around him...we are playing into opponents hands game in game out..RELEGATION FOOTBALL.. JUST LIKE LAST SEASON. you cant blame the young players,if this is how mr martin wants them to play. A change has too come and very quickly before we become adrift at the bottom of the league. We've got the players ,we just need to use them correctly and in the right system..let them play their own style of football and stop limiting them to a style of play they cannot master. We are not a top 3 prem side. Lets get back to basics and eek out results by playing to our strengths. PLEASE..

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ItchenNorth added 19:59 - Sep 20 A better performance in regard to the defense. We need to move She Charles into midfield now Badnarek is back. Along with THB we'll be fine back there and with Bazunu who's been solid all season and whos distribution is excellent. KWP probably had his best game for Saints in months. He held back when needed, only pushing on at the right times. He was our best player last night. The problem is the lack of movement off the ball and pace at which we play; it's pedestrian ! The midfield got better once Stu Armstrong came on because his mindset is positive, so is Alcaraz's. We need Charles to just in and protect the defense. But play is so slow currently and we go side ways and backward with opposition teams putting 11 behind the ball; we go nowhere. We need more balls in behind for Che to play off the shoulder of the defender. There no need to panic yet though. Let's see if the defense plays well again and if Martin gets the rest of the team playing a more fluid style in the games to come.

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onetowatch added 12:13 - Sep 21 Nick, you may want to stay calm in the middle of the league (if we're lucky!!??) for at least this season, if not next also, but that shouldn't be the case. I honestly do believe, in this league, our squad is good enough to make a serious push for promotion. But that will only happen if we always start with the X1 players that are most likely to secure a win......not simply try and secure keeping the ball!! You mention no eyebrows raised at the starting line up.....anyone I spoke to felt differently...thebteam we had for a large part of the 2nd half was far closer...SC must play the holding role in midfield, not Smallbone, it really is a no brainer. I could go on re other positions too, and let's not even go near supporting RM letting Perraud go, because we have Manning!!! Unbelievable!! Finally, RMs after match interview.....he should be ashamed..halftimeorange has already given the numbers on who was involved against Ipswich and was here last season. It sounds as though he's already setting his ''éxcuses stall' out...

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Ripleys_revenge added 02:32 - Sep 22 Seems there has been a push throughout the championship for teams to play out from the back more this season. This is part of English football trend, with multiple teams now trying to replicate the masters like Man City, even Brighton nowadays. In this respect I don't think Saints are alone, and I've seen several teams get turned over and concede exactly the types of goals we are also conceding (counter press, turnover, goal). The difference is that we seem completely wedded to the idea whereas other teams look like they have a bit more pragmatism i.e. get rid of it when there aren't any other options. To me this is a bit stupid and Martin needs to adapt to the situation by bearing in mind where the team is at. Is it not possible to feed in this style of playing more carefully over the longer term? The players are clearly shell shocked now - Martin talks about there being too much fear in the team; I think he is partly responsible for that. He's created a culture where it is unacceptable for players to play with pragmatism or in-game intelligence. As such, they have become robots instead of professional players - just without the necessary data uploaded (sorry to use this clunky computer analogy). Fine if you are Man City or Barcelona but let's be honest - we are not! The best managers adapt and tailor their approach to what they have to work with. For me this would be more of a 4-2-3-1 shape with 2 holding midfielders. I'm not calling for Martin to go just yet, but I am concerned about his approach being so blinkered. Fine to have footballing principles (good thing!) but need to combine it with realism otherwise half the season will be gone before we actually start churning out results (assuming we actually get that far...)

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