Reader says Portsmouth fans 'more supportive' of their manager than Saints fans

I’ve been disappointed but not surprised to see an increasing number of letters from Saints’ fans wanting Russell Martin to be sacked.

Many of these fans claim to have supported the team for decades, yet apparently have never seen a worse Saints team, which only makes me wonder where they were, during the years when we tumbled from the Premier League to Division One, or more recently, played under managers like Claude Puel, Mauricio Pellegrino and Mark Hughes.

It seems the same young manager who gave us a record unbeaten run of 25 games in all competitions and took us up last year, must be denied the chance to learn his trade in the Premier League, even though most of his players are not yet good enough to compete at this level, and also need time to learn.

Every Saints fan I spoke to last year, with one exception, said they didn’t want us to go up because we’d come straight back down again, but now that that looks probable, everyone is complaining.

And many of them know that the thing to do is appoint Graham Potter, who, one letter-writer tells us, ‘completely revolutionised Brighton’.

A quick check of Potter’s record shows that in fact, although they were already an established Premier League team when he joined them, he managed Brighton to 15th place in his first season, 16th in his second, and to a respectable 9th in his third and final season.

He then moved to Chelsea, with far more talented players at his disposal, and was sacked in April 2023 after 31 games, having achieved the lowest points-per-game return of any previous Chelsea manager.

He has been unwanted for the 18 months since then, even though many clubs across the leagues have replaced their managers.

Yet he is reckoned to be a better manager than the one we have?

I hate to say it, but from what I’ve seen in the local Pompey paper and fans’ forums, Portsmouth fans, who, like us, are enduring a disappointing season after promotion last year, remain much more supportive and positive about their manager than many of the so-called loyal Saints fans are about ours.

Being loyal and loving your club doesn’t mean turning on the manager when times are tough, and only ‘supporting’ him when the team is winning.

Siobhan O'Rourke

Avon Court, Netley Abbey