Southampton clinched a vital 2-1 victory over Coventry City last night with Russell Martin now explaining why Jan Bednarek was left out of the squad.
As promotion rivals Leeds United and Leicester City dropped points, Southampton secured a 2-1 win over play-off-chasing Coventry City at St Mary’s.
Russell Martin called for his players to respond following their disappointing goalless draw against Blackburn Rovers, and they duly obliged.
A ferocious strike from Kyle Walker-Peters skimmed off Che Adams‘ back and wrong-footed Brad Collins before bundling home his second from a corner.
The Saints blew away Coventry City in the first half as Martin’s tactical switches paid off.
He moved Jack Stephens back into his usual central defensive position and played Walker-Peters as an inverted full-back on the left with James Bree on the right.
This worked well as the South Coasters comfortably built up possession from defence, although there was one glaring omission.
Russell Martin explains why Jan Bednarek was left out v Coventry
Jan Bednarek is having an exceptional season for Southampton, playing in 36 of their 40 Championship matches this term.
The Polish titan is excellent with the ball at his feet, ranking second in the Championship for most successful passes per game (92.6) at a success rate of 96%.
Bednarek is equally dominant in defensive duels, winning 60% (1.7) of his aerial duels per match and recovering 6.2 balls per game.
The 27-year-old is a key cog in their defence and Martin has now explained why he was left out of the starting XI against the Sky Blues.
“Janny took a big whack against Ipswich and he managed to get through the game on Saturday at Blackburn,” Martin told the Daily Echo.
“He was still really stiff and sore. We looked at it and thought about if he really needed to play through the pain tonight.
“We didn’t think he needed to because we have two really competent centre-backs at this level.”
Southampton have strength in depth
Southampton have the luxury of leaving Bednarek out and playing a solid defensive duo of Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Stephens.
Harwood-Bellis, currently on loan from Manchester City, helped Burnley clinch the Championship last term while Stephens has amassed over 250 appearances for the Saints.
The Saints’ quality in central defence is what most clubs only dream of having, and why many supporters are disappointed that automatic promotion is out of their hands.
However, after watching Leeds draw to Sunderland and Leicester lose to Millwall, Southampton can win both their games in hand and move just three points behind with their rivals still to play.
After being written off following the Ipswich result, other teams have done them a favour and Martin’s men must pounce on their slip-ups to give themselves an outside chance.