Jo Tessem Attributes ‘Embarrassing’ Tottenham Loss to Players, Reflects on Russell Martin’s Managerial Style

Jo Tessem, a former midfielder for Southampton, stated that the displays by certain Saints players during their match against Tottenham were “embarrassing” and should not be attributed to Russell Martin. Speaking to BBC Radio Solent Sport, Tessem remarked: “That [defeat] was completely on the players for me.” He added, “There were some performances on that pitch that were embarrassing and that had nothing to do with Russell Martin.” Tessem further commented, “I don’t know anything about what goes on behind the scenes but it was almost like the players knew that he had lost his job, that’s how bad it was.” He elaborated on the team’s shortcomings, stating, “We didn’t turn up. We didn’t win our one-on-ones. We didn’t mark. We didn’t position ourselves in the right position. [Kyle] Walker Peters had a nightmare of a game. He gave away so much space and when you don’t do the job you set to do on the pitch, you look even sillier and that’s how we looked in the first half. It could’ve been more goals.” Tessem also expressed his view that Russell Martin became ‘really stuck in his ways’ during his time as manager. He explained: “I do think you need to have principles. We all have ways we want to play and Russell has it as well and there is nothing wrong with it, he stuck to his guns. He’s chosen his pathway. In the Premier League, you have to be adaptable, you have to help your players more and this is the fault of many managers, can they get a little bit stuck to what they do? And I think Russell got really stuck in his ways and didn’t adapt well enough and the mistakes we made over and over again. They were too similar.” Regarding Martin’s dismissal, Tessem stated: “I’m not surprised [about Martin’s sacking] because it’s a tough league. We’ve got to send him off and say Merry Christmas because he got us back to the Premier League. He’s done good things for the club, we have to remember that and what we went through last season. He managed to get us to a play-off final, so there are positives, but in the Premier League we got eaten alive and we still are. We need to adapt a little better.”