Martin believes Saints have been unlucky and asserts ‘we should have more points’

The St Mary's outfit sit 18th in the division after picking up their first point of the campaign last time out in a 1-1 draw with relegation rivals Ipswich Town. Martin's Saints were seconds away from a vital first win when Sam Morsy's added-time strike was deflected to beat the impressive Aaron Ramsdale in goal. Saints were beaten by one goal in their first two league matches and missed a penalty to go ahead against Manchester United in another defeat.  Martin believes they have been unlucky and his assertion is supported by Opta's expected points data, which put Saints as high as 12th in the table. "I think it makes me really frustrated but it also tells us, in the same way it did at this time last season, that we're really not very far away," Martin said. Russell Martin's Saints are still searching for their first win of the season (Image: Richard Crease) "If we keep on doing the right things with the right intention, eventually them things will often end up levelling out and becoming more of a reality. "We have an awareness of what's hurt us for sure and what we need to tweak but we have an awareness of what's really working in the Premier League. "We're not sat here just trying to do the same thing. We had 45 games in one shape last year and then changed because we felt that was the best way to win. "This year we played a few different shapes we're trying to find really the best way to win. I feel like we're doing that every single game. "We should have more points we should be higher up in the table but we're not, so sometimes that is football and that is life. "You can choose to suffer through the pain or you choose to grow through it and use it as fuel. I always know what my choice is and I said to the players we have that choice "We have a brilliant group here that can continue to do that and I think they know that when we're adapting and tweaking we're not we're not doing it out of fear. Opta's predicted final Premier League table 📊👀 pic.twitter.com/ylcRUXy2lK — Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 26, 2024 "We're doing it out of a want to get better and I think we will we will get better. We'll end up with the points that we hopefully feel like we deserve. "There is probably one game this year that I've been so annoyed at myself with and that was Forest where we probably didn't deserve anything from the game "We have been so competitive and there's been moments of real control and dominance in each of the games. Those periods are getting longer and longer." Opta statistics measure Saints as 12th on 'expected points' based on their chances versus the opposition and the likely outcome of game scenarios so far. It asserts that Saints should be ahead of Newcastle United, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Wolves, West Ham, Everton, Leicester City and Ipswich Town. Saints visit AFC Bournemouth on Monday, September 30 (8pm), hunting their first win of the season and Martin's first as a top-flight boss.