Saints boss Russell Martin plays down Kyle Walker-Peters controversy

Southampton travel to Bournemouth on Monday night with boss Russell Martin under pressure of the sack.

The Saints earned a point against Ipswich last time out, but there was some controversy as the boss left out Kyle Walker-Peters at right-back in favour of Charlie Taylor.

“Leaving Kyle out after what he has done for us is not easy,” the boss told reporters. “It was about balance in the team. We don’t have many left-footed players on the pitch at the moment. I think Charlie was probably the only one.

“We had to adapt for that game. We might need to do that against Bournemouth.”

Martin also dismissed claims that Walker-Peters being in the final year of his contract was the reason for him dropping to the bench.

“Kyle is ready to play. He understands the reason. People try to bring his contract into it – that wasn’t a problem with Che and Stuey.

“That will never be a problem. It will be about trying to win a game and have the best players on the pitch.

“We have six, seven, eight guys not in the squad. Some of those are internationals. It’s not easy.

“We work relentlessly with everyone to keep them ready. Someone can come into the lineup having not been in the squad – as was proven at Everton.

“Someone can go from starting to not being in the squad. It all depends on what we feel we need for each game on the bench.”

Southampton sit joint-bottom of the Premier League alongside Wolves, with one point taken from their opening five games.