Russell Martin hailed his players for keeping Southampton’s unbeaten run going via the late goal that secured a 1-1 FA Cup draw at Watford.

It had looked as though Matheus Martins’ early free-kick might turn out to be enough for the Hornets but substitute Stuart Armstrong’s leveller ensured there will be a replay at St Mary’s and extended Saints’ club-record run to 22 matches dating back to September.

The winners will travel to Liverpool in the last 16, with Jurgen Klopp’s side having beaten Norwich 5-2 at Anfield in another tie that was on the go when the fifth-round draw was made.

Manager Martin made nine changes to his usual league line-up but the second-half introduction of four experienced faces saw the tie saved.

He said of his players: “They have amazing mentality, they were relentless in the second half and the last half-hour in particular. They just won’t accept being beat, which is an amazing trait for any team to have and they deserved that.

“The goal was a rubbish one to concede, really poor. I said to the guys at half-time we just lacked a bit of aggression. There was a lot of disappointment because they wanted so badly to take their opportunity.

“We took that frustration into the second half and the guys who came on had a real impact in the game. We scored a little bit too late but we still kept trying to win it.

“It was a proper cup tie and the atmosphere was great. We had 4,000 fans on a Sunday afternoon in not the most glamorous of cup ties against a club in the same division that we have already played once this season.”

Martin felt the prospect of a trip to Anfield would be a big incentive for both sides to win the replay.

He said: “To play at Liverpool is a huge opportunity in Jurgen Klopp’s last season as manager. We have a number of players coming back from injury who will hopefully be ready for that game as well.”

Watford manager Valerien Ismael, who had made six changes, was disappointed his players could not hold out for the win.

But he argued holding Saints to successive 1-1 draws in the space of a few weeks – Watford scoring a late equaliser of their own on December 9 – was an achievement in itself.

“We needed a second goal – or to keep a clean sheet,” he said. “We were solid, disciplined and well-organised and over the the 90 minutes the mentality and the desire was there.

“The only thing I will say is we need to be more composed. We lost the ball too many times. If you want to become a top team you need to control the ball.

“At the end we put on players who are not fit at the moment and you could see the pace dropped but they need game time.

“We competed well against them, for the second time at home.

“We had quite a lot of chances, we were very dangerous but we ran out of energy to push and get the clean sheet to win the game.

“It showed we are able to compete with them. The second game will be interesting.”

Russell Martin says Southampton’s new unbeaten club record will not carry as much importance if the Saints do not return to the Premier League.

Southampton broke a 103-year-old club record on Saturday by extending their unbeaten run to 21 games with a 3-1 victory at Martin’s old club Swansea.

Victory lifted the Saints into second place in the Sky Bet Championship, above Ipswich on goal difference.

“It is a nice moment,” Martin said after his side completed Southampton’s best unbeaten run in all competitions since joining the Football League in 1920, eclipsing the 20 games undefeated achieved the following year.

“I’m really grateful to the players for what they’ve done, the courage they’ve shown. I’m immensely proud.

“The way they did it in the first half, one of the best performances I’ve ever been involved in as coach.

“It’s taken a lot of hard work and they’ve really stepped up. They’ve written themselves in to the history books – and let’s keep it going.

“It will have more significance, importance and standing if we achieve what we want at the end of the season, otherwise it will be just something we’ve achieved together.”

First-half goals from Che Adams, Will Smallbone and Flynn Downes – his first for Saints coming on his 25th birthday and against his former club – put Southampton in control.

However, Saints had to withstand late home pressure as Swansea twice hit the post and Gavin Bazunu made a couple of useful saves.

“We didn’t mix the game up in the last 20 minutes and played with no real purpose,” said Martin.

“We were relentless in the first half and I was disappointed the way we conceded at the end of that half.

“It was handball and offside but we had one offside (goal), so it is what it is.

“It took us a little bit longer to get the wheels in motion. Those two clubs (Leicester and Ipswich) had the two best starts in Championship history, so the fact we are now there and in the fight, in the mix, and hunting them both down, is a real credit to the players.”

Martin was given a warm welcome by Swansea fans on his return to the club he managed for two years and left last June.

Relations between Martin and the Swansea hierarchy had soured after the club had a dismal January transfer window.

“I felt sick this morning and couldn’t eat any breakfast,” said Martin.

“But it was really nice to come back and I enjoyed it more because of our performance and the fact we won.

“Seeing all the backroom staff and lots of people who meant a lot to us – and who we have a lot of love and affection for – was special.”

For Swansea boss Luke Williams, it was a first defeat in charge following an FA Cup victory over Morecambe and a Championship draw at Birmingham.

Jamie Paterson made it 2-1 just before half-time with a close-range header, and Swansea finally shook off the shackles to set up a grandstand finish that almost brought surprise reward.

“First half we were too deep, far too deep,” said Williams, Martin’s former assistant at both MK Dons and Swansea.

“Southampton could push the ball around, take their time and wait for the space and they did that brilliantly.

“Second half, the difference is we play higher up the pitch and we were able to create chances.”

Former Notts County boss Williams was appointed after Martin’s successor Michael Duff lasted less than five months in the job.

He said: “If it was something that was a really quick fix, everyone would be doing it. it’s not going to be that easy.

“I need to try to get the message across to the players in a clinical way because we are not blessed with time at the moment.”

Southampton broke a 103-year-old club record by going 21 games unbeaten as Russell Martin celebrated his return to Swansea with a 3-1 success.

Che Adams, Will Smallbone and birthday boy Flynn Downes scored first-half goals as the Saints secured a Sky Bet Championship victory that should have been by a far greater margin.

Jamie Paterson gave Swansea brief hope in cutting the deficit to 2-1, but this was a sobering defeat for the hosts – their first in four games since losing at Southampton on Boxing Day.

Southampton have now eclipsed their best unbeaten run in all competitions since joining the Football League in 1920, the Saints going 20 games without defeat the following year.

A sixth win in seven league games moves Southampton into second place, above Ipswich on goal difference before they meet Championship leaders Leicester on Monday.

Martin was given a warm welcome by Swansea fans on his return to the club he managed for two years and left last June.

Luke Williams, who worked as Martin’s assistant at MK Dons and Swansea, was in charge in the home dugout for the first time in the league.

Williams had started his reign with an FA Cup victory over Morecambe and a Championship draw at Birmingham, but this was a far tougher proposition against visitors unbeaten since September 23.

Southampton thrashed Swansea 5-0 at St Mary’s and could have matched that total inside the opening half-hour.

Adams volleyed an inviting opportunity wide before Carl Rushworth pushed Stuart Armstrong’s sixth-minute shot into the Scotland striker’s path for his ninth goal of the season.

Rushworth was the busiest man in Swansea, with several stops including a fantastic double save to deny Ryan Fraser and Adam Armstrong.

Swansea’s defence was breached again after 20 minutes, although there was more than a hint of offside about it.

Stuart Armstrong seemed well beyond the last home defender, but he was allowed to continue and his cross was converted by Smallbone from inside the six-yard box.

Josh Tymon had Swansea’s first effort, looping over from 20 yards, but Rushworth kept them in the contest by kicking away Adam Armstrong’s angled attempt at a post.

Southampton’s share of possession was over 80 per cent at times, but Swansea scored out of nowhere four minutes before the break.

Harrison Ashby’s cross ended in a collision between Saints goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu and Jamal Lowe.

The Swansea striker had possibly been offside, but the ball ran kindly to Liam Cullen and his centre was nodded home by Paterson.

Southampton restored their two-goal advantage on the stroke of half-time as former Swansea midfielder Downes fired home from 20 yards with the aid of a deflection.

Downes was celebrating his 25th birthday, but did not salute his first Saints goal out of respect for his former club.

The second period was a far quieter affair until Paterson struck the Saints woodwork twice in as many minutes.

Bazunu also thwarted substitute Yannick Bolasie from close range as Swansea finished strongly, but without success.

Russell Martin has urged his Southampton players to “make history” after equalling their best English Football League unbeaten run by thrashing Sheffield Wednesday 4-0.

Adam Armstrong scored and set up Che Adams, Ryan Fraser and Sekou Mara to mark Saints’ 19th league game without defeat. They moved into the automatic places for the first time since the opening day of the season, ahead of Ipswich’s evening kick-off.

The unbeaten run is only bettered in the club’s history by a 24-match spell in 1896 and 1897.

Martin said: “We are on an unbeaten run where I’m immensely proud of the players. It is incredible what they have achieved and we have to keep it going as long as possible.

“We have never gone ‘we need to chase Leicester and Ipswich’. We are concentrating on ourselves and we’ll see where it takes us.

“It has never been a conscious focus for us but I want them to go and make some history next week.

“I want them to be remembered for that. I want them to do it and it has been an incredible achievement.

“I told them that the biggest incentive was finishing the game in second, for how long who knows. But it is a reward for the hard work they have put in and we are really in the race and the hunt now.

“For the players to put themselves in that position of 20 games unbeaten in all competitions is amazing.

“The way they have done it has shown they are growing. It has been a pleasure to watch but it is now our job to keep them hungry.

“If they do it then we will be in with a really good chance of achieving what we wanted to achieve.”

Adams opened the scoring after collecting an Armstrong cross before rounding a defender and lashing into the bottom corner.

Armstrong got his goal on the counter after Stuart Armstrong fed him before the former Blackburn man brilliantly provided for Fraser and Mara to make it nine straight home victories at St Mary’s.

Martin said of Armstrong: “If he carries on going I will be happy either way.

“He’s been so good and probably playing in a position he doesn’t really want to play. He wants to be the number nine in the team but he’s playing a role he is playing so well in.

“The goals and the assists are what strikers get judged on but there is so much more to it than that with Adam.”

Wednesday boss Danny Rohl was previously an assistant at Saints and is crossing his fingers for his former employers in their automatic promotion hunt.

Rohl said: “It is a big challenge at the top of the table but when you see what they are doing they are a good team.

“Because of my past I cross my fingers for Southampton but it won’t be easy. If they do a job like today then they’ll stand a good chance.”

He added: “That was hard. Southampton played well. It was a game we had to perform well and make no mistakes.

“Everyone was convinced we could have taken something. It is different to three months ago when we came to games and thought there wasn’t a chance. We had the confidence to try something.

“This team is a different league to us. For us it is about staying in the league and for them it is the Premier League.

“All in all it was a deserved victory for Southampton.”

Southampton manager Russell Martin admitted he took no joy in thrashing old club Swansea 5-0.

Martin took charge of the Swans for two seasons before leaving to join Saints last summer – where he has now overseen a 16-match unbeaten run and seen his side close in on the Championship automatic-promotion places.

The former MK Dons boss, who was making his first reunion with the Swans, did a lap of honour after the match and was applauded by both sets of fans.

“I don’t take any more joy out of beating them,” said Martin.

“That reception from the Swansea fans made me really emotional, it was really incredible and I hope the Southampton fans understand why I applaud them.

“I love some of their players on the pitch. My feeling towards the people who run the football club, who are not in Wales, is completely detached from the feeling I have for the people in Wales.

“I didn’t know what I was expecting, they could have booed, I hoped not but we left.

“I really buy into clubs and so does my family – my son wanted a Jan Bednarek signed shirt for Christmas and he wore it all day, it is down to his ankles.

“We are loving our time here but we also loved our time at Swansea.”

Saints took the lead in the 17th minute when Joe Aribo slotted in for the first time since October 2022.

Samuel Edozie capitalised on goalkeeper Carl Rushworth’s air-kick to back-heel his fifth goal of the season before Ryan Fraser came off the bench to emphatically finish twice, and Che Adams added a fifth.

The performance was a reward for Martin giving his players Christmas Day off.

He said: “I gave the players Christmas Day off because they are human-beings.

“If I’m going to preach to them about how important family is and being able to separate reality from this then to say they have to come in on Christmas Day is unfair.

“It would only have been the right thing if we won, if we lost then it would be the reason why we lost. They really repaid me today.”

Swansea interim boss Alan Sheehan is holding talks over his future later on Saturday.

The Irishman said: “I will be speaking to the owners after the game. Right now, I have to debrief that game.

“I understand everyone wants clarity but I can only get the team prepared.”

Swansea only had one shot on target.

Sheehan added: “We came here with the intention of going toe to toe with one of the best teams in the league.

“For large periods of the game we were massively in the game but the second goal kills us – it was a sucker-punch.

“I didn’t like a lot of the second half to be honest, it was unacceptable. We gifted them goals at times and made it hard for ourselves.

“It was unacceptable but I’ll take responsibility. We want to be brave but we caused ourselves problems at times.”

Southampton boss Russell Martin applauded Shea Charles for a “good foul” after the midfielder was sent off towards the end of a 1-0 win at QPR.

With the Saints under pressure, midfielder Charles, on as a second-half substitute, halted a Rangers attack in the 89th minute by bringing down Albert Adomah.

It led to Shea being dismissed for a second yellow card and meant the visitors saw out the final stages with 10 men before securing a valuable three points in the race for promotion.

Martin said: “Shea took one for the team, which is unfortunate for him but was a big moment because such a strength of theirs is on the counter-attack.

“(I’ll criticise) if you get sent off for something stupid – dissent or a wild tackle and all that stuff.

“If you’re on a yellow card and one of their biggest threats is the counter-attack, I think it’s a good foul. There are good fouls in the game and that was one.

“Now he misses a game, but I’m never going to criticise someone for taking one for the team.”

A Taylor Harwood-Bellis header three minutes before half-time was enough to clinch victory for Martin’s side, who are fourth in the Sky Bet Championship and now unbeaten in 15 matches – Southampton’s longest unbeaten run since 1950.

The Saints took their chance to close the gap on second-placed Ipswich, who were thrashed 4-0 by fellow promotion challengers Leeds earlier in the day.

“We had an opportunity to make up some points today and thankfully we took it,” said Martin.

“We limited them to very little in terms of big chances. We defended the box brilliantly. On the whole I’m really delighted.

“We were OK in the first half – a little bit of a lack of energy compared to recent weeks – and in the second half I thought we were great.”

QPR boss Marti Cifuentes insisted he took encouragement from his team’s display despite the loss.

Rangers remain third from bottom and have suffered back-to-back defeats, having recently won three matches in a row under the recently-appointed Spaniard.

“I’m disappointed because of the result. We want to win matches and today we were not good enough to do it,” said Cifuentes.

“At the same time, I can feel proud and encouraged about what’s coming because I saw a team that produced a good performance and tried to play positive, attacking football against one of the best sides in the league.

“We made things very difficult for Southampton. We had a good period in the first half and then unfortunately we conceded a goal from a set-piece.

“At half-time we spoke about putting a lot of pressure on them and I think the guys did that excellently.

“Perhaps we lack this clinical part in the last third, because we got in a lot of situations but should have produced more.

“Overall a very positive performance, but when you lose games you can never be satisfied.

“Now it’s time to look forward. I think if we play at the level we did today then we can collect a lot of points.

“I feel quite calm and the most important thing is that the team keeps progressing and improving.”

Russell Martin hailed his “relentless” Southampton side for finally blowing apart a Championship rival after thrashing 10-man Blackburn 4-0.

Samuel Edozie, Stuart Armstrong, Sekou Mara and Carlos Alcaraz all netted as Saints continued their best unbeaten run for 39 years and made it five home victories in a row.

Southampton’s single-digit goal difference and early-season slump had seen them fall behind pace-setters Leicester and Ipswich, but after 14 matches without defeat, they are starting to put pressure on the top two.

Martin said: “We’re not even halfway through the season and there is so much more room to grow.

“Hopefully we can have more days like today but even when we have only been winning by one goal in our eyes it has been convincing.

“You can’t always win convincingly, not even the teams at the top are leaving teams in their wake.

“I felt like we needed the second goal in the second half and always looked likely to get it even before the sending-off.

“I don’t know how you define a convincing win but we have got the goals we felt have been coming.

“We have been punished a couple of times for not scoring the goals but today we were relentless. The league is so tight and the goals might be really important at the end of the season.

“I’m really pleased we got the third and fourth goals as it is a fair reflection of the players’ mentality and creation. I enjoyed watching the team.

“That is five wins at home in a row and that is really amazing for the players. If we keep putting in performances like that we’ll see where it takes us.”

After dominating the first half, Saints finally led in the 44th minute when Edozie – on his first start for two months – diverted James Bree’s corner home.

Rovers defender Callum Brittain was shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball away in the 55th minute, having already been booked for pulling Kyle Walker-Peters’ shirt.

And from then on Saints turned on the style.

Stuart Armstrong stroked in after following in on Flynn Downes getting chopped down to make it 2-0 in the 64th minute.

Mara won a penalty, only for Alcaraz to chip over, but the Frenchman tapped in Ryan Fraser’s cross before Alcaraz thumped in a fourth deep into stoppage time.

Rovers boss Jon Dahl Tomasson revealed Brittain apologised in the dressing room after the match, but pinpointed his lack of discipline as the turning point at St Mary’s.

“It is a disappointing day. It is always going to be a difficult game against a team that is a Premier League squad,” he said.

“We knew that but we came with the intention of winning the game. In the first half we were quite solid and gave one chance away but we weren’t quite good enough on the ball today and the first goal’s timing hurts our game.

“The game totally changed after the red card and being a player behind against a Premier League side is difficult. We were still in the game after the first goal but after the second booking the game is over.

“Callum apologised to his team-mates in the dressing room immediately. A game where we could have got something out of it at 1-0, then suddenly the game is over.”

Russell Martin enjoyed getting his revenge on Cardiff fans after Southampton stretched their unbeaten run to 11 matches.

Saints boss Martin was subjected to abusive comments by visiting supporters throughout the match.

After celebrating with Saints supporters he displayed four fingers at the Bluebirds fans after the match – in reference to the two back-to-back season doubles he secured against them as Swansea manager.

He said: “I had my time at the end. They had theirs over the 90 minutes so I enjoyed mine for 10 seconds at the end.

“I’m sure there will be people who disagree with that but I choose to feel everything and enjoy that.

“If you want to hammer me for 90 minutes then I’m allowed maybe 10 seconds at the end.”

Southampton claimed a two-goal lead inside 15 minutes thanks to Adam Armstrong’s brace and never looked back.

The striker’s first came at the end of a fine team move as he brilliantly curled into the top corner, before adding his 12th of the campaign by heading in after good work from Stuart Armstrong.

Martin said about his top scorer: “He has so much quality and also a load of attitude. The first goal is quality and the second is his attitude and desire.

“We love him in that dressing room for how he is and how he conducts himself and how he works for the team.

“The goals are a real bonus and he possesses so much quality but it is his intensity he plays at and his willingness to run.”

Southampton threatened to run rampant in the second half but missed a host of chances – with substitute Ryan Fraser failing to add a third despite having six shots.

Martin said: “I’m really happy. I thought we were good today. We started the game so well.

“We should score more goals, that was the only frustration. I thought the lads were incredible in the second half.

“I watched with so much pride and gratitude for what they were doing. It’s been a long week so to produce that level of performance in the second half… [scoring a third goal] wasn’t to be.

“Ryan Fraser has come off the pitch frustrated that he hasn’t scored. It’s not a coincidence that the chances fall to him because he runs at the goal relentlessly.”

Erol Bulut bemoaned Cardiff’s slow start to the match but is looking forward to January to bolster his side to be able to compete with the Championship’s big boys.

“The first 20 minutes was [what went wrong],” he said. “It was not what I was expecting.

“After those 20 minutes we woke up but we were already 2-0 down. We were good but not good enough.

“At the end of the first half if we had scored with [Karlan Grant] I think the second half would be very different.

“We have progressed from the start of the season to today perfectly and we will continue to work hard.

“I hope in the January transfer [window] I can get some quality players in and we can push for more.

“This is the difference between the top level and what we currently have. It is small details.

“We’ve played against relegated Premier League teams, they have quality but they show us where we need to go and how we need to work. We’ll look in January to get to that level.”

Southampton manager Russell Martin still wants more from his promotion-chasing Saints despite extending their unbeaten run to 10 games with a 1-0 victory over Bristol City.

Kyle Walker-Peters scored a second-half belter to give Saints a fourth victory in their last five, which included their first home clean sheet since March.

But despite keeping pace at the top of the Sky Bet Championship, Martin thinks there is still plenty more to come from his side.

“It can’t just be lucky for 10 games,” said Martin. “One game, two games even four games you can be a bit lucky but 10 games isn’t lucky.

“I am happy, I might not seem it as you always want more, but I am happy.

“We had two scary moments but were dominant without having any purpose with the ball but the second half was amazing.

“We just need to score more goals and we should have done tonight.

“I know the expectation here is to win and beat everyone by four goals, I want to as well, and tonight if we get a second then the game changes completely but we can’t do that at the moment for one reason or another.

“It took a brilliant goal to win but it shouldn’t have to, we should have scored more.”

Saints squandered several chances in the first half, and were indebted to their keeper Gavin Bazunu for two sensational moments.

Firstly, the Ireland keeper brilliantly clawed Mark Sykes’ close-range header off the line before quickly coming off his line and diving at the feet of Tommy Conway in a one-versus-one.

Saints scored 109 seconds in the second half to settle the match.

Adam Armstrong looked like he had run down a cul-de-sac but wriggled back down the right side of the box to find Walker-Peters.

The right-back took the ball inside before curling into the top corner with his left foot for his second goal of the season.

Liam Manning lost for the first time since replacing Nigel Pearson as Bristol City boss.

Manning said: “I thought in the first half the game plan worked and we frustrated them while still playing. We created some terrific opportunities and we needed to take them.

“It was a poor start to the second half, with in two minutes the ball in in our net.

“We’ll lose games but I can’t complain about my players. They gave everything.

“Momentum is big in football. We knew first five minutes they would come out and have a right go and we needed to see through that phase.

“We have lost to a moment of high quality so there are mixed emotions for me at the moment.”

Russell Martin was proud that Southampton found a new way to win as they extended their unbeaten run to eight matches with a 2-1 victory over West Brom.

Will Smallbone and Adam Armstrong’s strikes maintained Saints’ promotion push, but it came in a much scrappier style than Martin would have liked.

The Baggies dominated the second half, equalised through Kyle Bartley and could have led but Darnell Furlong’s header came back off the crossbar.

Saints boss Martin said: “It was a different win to those we’ve had previously.

“I just said to the players it was built on character, spirit and togetherness. The energy from the crowd was amazing as well. It was that rather than dominance and control.

“They are one of the best teams we’ve played. I have so much respect for Carlos (Corberan). They make it seriously difficult for you. They have a lot of power and athleticism.

“In the second half the momentum swung and we were too untidy on the ball. Their goal was coming, we weren’t good enough in that period.

“We wanted the chance to fall to Adam, with his finishing abilities and mentalities.

“I enjoyed watching my players play and fight for each other. It is a big difference to the way we defended the goal at the start of the season.

“I can’t be entirely pleased with the performance but I can be proud of the way we won in a different way.

“I think the fans are now understanding the team and I hope they are starting to enjoy it. They stuck with it through a tough period.”

Saints took the lead in the fifth minute when Stuart Armstrong cut back to Adam Armstrong from the byline. His shot was saved but the rebound fell to Smallbone to convert from close range.

Conor Townsend thought he had cleared off the line but the goal-line technology confirmed West Brom had conceded the first goal in a match for the first time since September.

The visitors equalised after banging at the door for an extended spell. Brandon Thomas-Asante powered a header from Jed Wallace’s cross, with centre-back Bartley following up to bundle over the line for his second of the season.

The momentum continued when Townsend’s wicked cross was attacked by Darnell Furlong and crashed against the crossbar.

But Adam Armstrong went straight up the other end to calmly pull down Ryan Fraser’s cross and finish.

With Jan Bednarek suspended, Mason Holgate was given a rare start and Martin said: “Mason gave a brilliant performance today.

“Mason has had to wait for his opportunities. I put him in too early and he’s bounced back perfectly. The crowd were brilliant to give him man of the match.”

West Brom boss Corberan thought his side deserved a point for their second-half endeavour.

“I am not happy because we didn’t win,” he said. “We need to keep growing and attack better in their box and defend better in our box.

“If you analyse the way we play you will see how well we played in the second half. The volume of attack in the second half was more than the first.

“The fair result would have been a point for both teams.

“Every time we have lost the game before the international break but we have improved afterwards. If we can have those good performances as standard then we can be a competitive team.

“We need to do it against every type of opponent.

“We needed to be perfect today against a team like Southampton. We weren’t perfect in the first half and we weren’t perfect in finishing in the second half or how we defended their winner.

“We are frustrated because we go home with nothing.”

Russell Martin praised Southampton’s bravery as Ryan Fraser was again their late hero at Millwall.

The Saints have scored crucial injury-time goals in their last three away games with Fraser, who scored a last-gasp winner at Hull last month, sealing the spoils with a 93rd-minute strike.

Martin’s side are now motoring – having also drawn with Preston thanks to Ched Evans’ stoppage-time own goal – but were made to wait for their fifth win in seven, peppering Bartosz Bialkowski’s goal but unable to get past the Pole until the last gasp.

“The lads responded and stayed so brave in the second half,” said Martin. “The amount of running we made them do made the game look like it did in the last half-hour.

“We were relentless in attack and at the hour mark I thought ‘we’ve got them’ but their keeper made a few good saves and we couldn’t get the goal.

“Thankfully we got it right at the end and it’s a moment of composure. I’m really grateful for that and proud of the players.

“I think we had control, we limited them to one shot on target and they hit the bar from a set-piece.

“The second half looked a lot different because we were aggressive, we made runs for each other to open them up and I was really pleased with that.”

Bialkowski made a string of fine saves, keeping out Stuart Armstrong’s shot in the 20th minute and then powerful efforts from Carlos Alcaraz and Will Smallbone.

Frustration grew in the Saints ranks with Kamaldeen Sulemana, another denied by Bialkowski in the second half, reacting angrily to being substituted by Martin.

“We had guys coming off the pitch annoyed that they’ve come off and I don’t mind that,” said Martin.

“I’ve told them it’s a squad game. And if you show you’re annoyed when you come off I honestly don’t have a problem with that at all.

“They’re human beings and want to play football and that’s how it should be. I don’t see that as disrespectful and all that nonsense. As long as they celebrate with the guys when there’s a moment like that, which they did, then there’s never a problem.”

Adam Barrett continues to take caretaker charge at the Den, with Millwall now winless in five having also conceded late in their draw with Watford.

“You know with the quality players they’ve got and their play that they will wear you down a bit,” he said of Saints.

“I’m frustrated with the ending because when you switch off for one moment against these tough teams they punish you. They keep working and probing and it was a real sickener to concede so late again.

“I haven’t watched it back, but my initial thoughts are we spoke about the way they play and move and I don’t think we dealt with it well enough.

“They’re good players and they go and punish you. It’s two games there where we should be coming away with four points and we’ve got one.

“It’s vital we get results back on track here, it’s been disappointing.

“We’ve hit the bar first half and that could have changed it. The fans were with the boys all game, it was a great atmosphere. But we’ve got to get The Den back to being a real difficult place to come.”

Russell Martin hailed Southampton’s resilience after a last-gasp Ched Evans own goal secured them a valuable 2-2 draw at Preston.

Goals from Milutin Osmajic and Brad Potts in three second-half minutes set Preston on course for victory until Evans diverted a 96th-minute corner into his own net while under pressure from Saints goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu.

Kyle Walker-Peters had put Southampton ahead in the first half and Martin was pleased with their performance, despite the need for a late equaliser.

“It’s frustrating that we’ve had to pretty much rely on a late goal to get a point, but I’m really happy with the way we’ve performed over the 90 minutes,” he said.

“It’s a dramatic one I know, but the two 10-minute periods either side of half-time have cost us in the end.

“We needed to defend our box much better, but when they scored twice pretty quickly it seemed to energise Preston and their fans and that didn’t help our situation.

“I can’t be unhappy with the performance overall and I won’t criticise the players, because we’ve had to make changes again tonight and the lads who came in were great.

“The lads showed plenty of resilience throughout and I was proud with the way they kept going right until the end.

“There will be question marks about certain selections over the next few days, but considering those changes we’ve been having to make, we’re still on a decent run.”

Southampton are fifth in the table following the result, while Preston are one spot above and one point better off despite their winless run extending to six games.

They travel to face Hull on Saturday and manager Ryan Lowe admits he has to pick his players up from the blow of conceding so late.

“First and foremost I’m really proud of the boys,” he said.

“We had to change the shape at half-time and then in the second half we’ve stuck to the gameplan really well.

“It’s a sucker punch at the end, but I’ve no complaints about that one. We should have seen the game out by that stage.

“I’ve had to lift the lads up, they’re all disappointed because we were worthy of getting the three points.

“We’ve got to pick ourselves up for another big game at the weekend now.

“The Championship is a rocky road, there’s always lots of ups and downs, but I never get too frustrated any more because I know the players always give me 100 per cent effort and application.

“We’ve got a squad we can rotate and everyone knows they have to keep performing.”

Russell Martin hopes Southampton can kick their Sky Bet Championship campaign on again after putting a bad run of form behind them with a 1-0 win over Stoke.

Stuart Armstrong’s first-half free-kick proved the difference at the bet365 Stadium as Saints secured back-to-back victories, while the Potters slipped to their fifth loss in seven Championship games.

The victory in the Potteries followed a 3-1 triumph versus Leeds last Saturday and the successive wins came after a four-game losing run, with Martin hoping their toughest moment of the season has been and gone.

“I think it’s been two of our best performances, tonight I think was probably our best one, our most complete one,” he said.

“I feel like we should have scored a couple more goals and we limited them to very little really, although they threw everything at us in the end.

“To follow up the effort it took on Saturday to come here and such a tough place, a good team with a really excellent manager, to come here and do what we did, I’m really proud of the boys.

“They’re playing for each other, they’re playing for us and the last two games will hopefully come at the end of the toughest moment we’ll have together.

“I think every team has a tough period and ours has come early on after a good start and playing against a really difficult fixture schedule.

“We found a bit of rhythm now and hopefully we can maintain that.”

Alex Neil, while proud of Stoke’s efforts, voiced frustration at key refereeing decisions including Josh Laurent’s foul on Armstrong for the winning free-kick and Nathan Lowe being bundled over by Jan Bednarek after the break which he felt was a penalty.

He said: “I think all you ever ask your team to do and individual players is to give everything they’ve got and I thought we got that.

“I don’t think we can have any complaints in terms of the efforts of the players.

“We got undone by one moment of quality where the ball ends up in the top corner.

“I think certainly if you look at the foul that they get for their goal and you look at the foul in the box, if you’re going to compare both in terms of contact.

“I think if you look at the two directives at the start of the season, one was based around soft contact for fouls and not buying into soft contact, which I thought for the first foul was really soft, and the other was was timewasting, and I didn’t think any of the directives this evening were carried out well enough in terms of the game at all.”

Southampton manager Russell Martin insists Leicester should be criticised as much as his side despite winning 4-1 at St Mary’s.

Saints conceded after 21 seconds to a thumping Jamie Vardy finish before Kasey McAteer, Wilfred Ndidi and Stephy Mavididi also netted as the Foxes ran riot.

But Martin, who saw Sam Edozie pull one back and Kamaldeen Sulemana sent off late on, thinks the result did not reflect the two sides’ performances.

He said: “It is a very different feeling to Sunderland (5-0 defeat). I am proud of the players, people will criticise me for saying that but they did what we asked of them.

“I take loads from that and it was a much better performance than Sunderland.

“If anyone expected there not to be any pain when it is such a big change then they are very naive.

“Leicester lost the ball as much as we did but they have come out on the right end of the scoreline so Enzo (Maresca) will not get criticised.

“I asked the players to go toe to toe with a really good team and I thought it was a very good game.

“We made life difficult for ourselves by conceding two early goals. They were really clinical and we weren’t. They took their chances and we didn’t.

“People can read what they want into it but if we took our chances it is a very different scoreline.

“It was a tough atmosphere which I understand because we were 2-0 down in 20 minutes.

“They have to do their best to shut that out. But the only way we can get them off our backs is to win games and make everyone feel positive.

“On Tuesday both the fans and the players have a choice about how to approach it. The supporters have the choice of coming to support or causing anxieties.

“They have been great since I’ve been here and I’d have been annoyed if we had started like we did and lost.”

Vardy’s opener, his first in the Championship this season after Mavididi’s fine pull back, was followed quickly by McAteer controlling and slotting in after Saints gave the ball away in midfield.

Edozie bagged his second of the campaign but Ndidi’s finish handed the Foxes back their two-goal advantage before the interval, with Mavididi getting the goal his performance deserved in the 67th minute.

Leicester manager Enzo Maresca said: “I am very happy. Winning the game is always important, it is never easy but the performance on and off the ball was very good.

“Sometimes like tonight we were a little more clinical and more clear in our decision-making.

“Since day one we have arrived quite well in the last third but we miss the right choices and aren’t patient, but tonight it worked better.

“We still need to improve and add new solutions. I don’t like basketball games. We know they want the same way of playing as us – keep the ball and try to win. So we knew we couldn’t control the game for 90 minutes.

“The way we worked off the ball, how aggressive we were, was the key point.

“Stephy is an important player for us but tonight was a good performance from all the players.”

Southampton manager Russell Martin was proud of his players for beating QPR 2-1 after another week of dealing with transfer disruption.

Adam Armstrong bagged his fourth goal of the season after Samuel Edozie and Jack Colback had cancelled each other’s strikes out in the first half.

Saints were without Che Adams – who is wanted by Everton – and Bayer Leverkusen-bound Nathan Tella after weeks of uncertainty around the likes of James Ward-Prowse and Romeo Lavia.

“There has been so much change and disruption, so I am pleased with the mentality of the group,” Martin said.

“Che wasn’t in a place to give it everything he’s got. He and Nathan both played last week despite the noise but it has been a long week for both of them.

“The first half was no where near good enough but the subs were important and we persevered.

“I’m pleased we won, but I’m not happy with the amount of moments QPR had and how we reacted to scoring again.

“Armo comes up with a really good finish but I am frustrated with many aspects of the performance.”

Saints opened the scoring in the 30th minute when Ryan Manning squirted a perfect through ball for Edozie to cut onto his right foot and smash through Asmir, giving the former Manchester City youngster his first professional goal.

Less than three minutes later QPR were back level when Colback’s 20-yard hit and hope went in off the post.

Rangers hit the bar after the break but Armstrong picked up a pass from Manning to thump into the bottom corner with Saints’ only shot of the second half.

Armstrong had only scored four goals for Saints since arriving from Blackburn in 2021 before doubling his tally in four matches this season.

Martin said: “Armstrong has been amazing. He is a talented football but he listens to the detail and trusts in us here.

“I think he is enjoying himself and feels how much we value him, which is important for every player.

“There is also his work-rate. Like at the end of the game he makes two huge tackles at the end of the game, it is incredible.

“He is a top person and a top player and will score a lot for us this season.

“Adam has been judged for two years on something that didn’t really suit him.

“Now he has something that really suits him and is thriving.”

QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth was left to rue his side’s missed opportunities.

He said: “A £15million striker was the difference today. Armstrong has scored a lot of goals already this season and he got a chance and took it.

“But we really limited Southampton to hardly any chances and we were the aggressors with shots on target. We didn’t throw it away, we just didn’t convert our chances.

“These are things I can work on though, I can’t work on heart and desire but that is here now. The boys are emptying the tank.

“All teams are going to get dominated at Southampton this season, they are a Premier League outfit without a shadow of a doubt, but I can’t deny we didn’t deserve something from the game.

“I don’t think many teams will come here and out-shoot them here this season. Somehow we have come away with nothing.”