Martin insists he feels 'energised' by faith shown from Saints owners

SAINTS manager Russell Martin says he feels "energised" by the faith the club's owners have shown him amid a torrid start to the Premier League.

Martin is set to lead Saints for the 16th league game of the campaign against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday with some fans growing frustrated.

Saints have won just five points from the first 15 matches, a position in which only three other teams in Premier League history have found themselves.

All three, Sunderland and Sheffield United twice, went on to finish bottom by the end of the campaign, but Martin has kept his job as boss.

Asked if he feels fortunate to have not been sacked, and feels refreshed, Martin told the Daily Echo: "I'm not sure I feel refreshed but I feel energised.

Saints manager Russell Martin could be under pressure if results do not improve (Image: PA)

"I didn't after Saturday at Aston Villa. Losing hurts and we've lost too much so I want to get that feeling back of winning after we won so much last year.

"You get used to that we haven't done it enough this year, but I feel energised by the response from the players and the staff when I come in the building.

"I feel nothing but love and support from the people here all the staff, everyone from the chefs in the kitchen, the kit people, the coaching staff, the players.

"As long as I feel that I'll have the energy to keep working and keep trying to be better and keep trying to improve and we have so much to improve.

"I'm still so excited about the group and what they're capable of and how much we can grow them, and I'll keep doing that until I'm told I'm not wanted."

Martin's style of play has come under fire with his side scoring 11 goals in the Premier League this season while conceding 10 directly from errors.

"A lot of them were early on in the season and some of the mistakes are just not what we work on, so it's just emotion and a bit of tension at times," he explained.

"And I think we miss too many chances or we miss too many opportunities to break the rhythm of the game so we have to get a balance right.

"We need to get more rewards for what we do, we stole the ball four times at Villa and it came to nothing. If the opposition steals, they're going for the jugular.

"We have to have more of that intent. The message to the players has been clear and I think they've taken it on board in the work we've done this week.

"A lot of it has been focusing on being more aggressive in the opposition half to go and score and to try and make them defend more, so we'll see."