Russell Martin, the manager of Southampton, spoke about his respect for Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca and the work he did at Leicester last season.
Russell Martin said “I think Enzo’s done a great job. I’ve got a lot of respect for him and what he did at Leicester last season. I’m really pleased for him that a club as big as Chelsea has recognised the work he did in the Championship and given him the credit because they were brilliant.”
Russell Martin highlighted the challenges he and Enzo Maresca face as managers of Southampton and Chelsea respectively, and commented on Chelsea’s performance against Aston Villa.
Russell Martin said “I think sometimes the hardest thing for a coach to do is to take another team and make it his own and look very similar in such quick time, which he’s done. Against Aston Villa on the weekend, they were excellent, really outstanding. They have some top players but it’s how you get them players on the ball and in the areas where you want to. They can do their stuff and they do it regularly. We have to be aware of it. We have an understanding of what his team likes to do from last season. Now he’s doing it with really high-level players.”
Russell Martin acknowledged the difficulties his team faces against Chelsea’s high-pressing style and possession game, drawing comparisons to other teams they’ve played.
Russell Martin said “I think that’s been the toughest challenge at that club over the last couple of years, is to get them to really buy into one thing. He seems to have done with players who were bought for different things so it’s big credit to him and it’ll be a tough game for us.”
Russell Martin warned that Chelsea’s high-pressing style could create challenges for Southampton’s playing style, and compared them to other teams.
Russell Martin said “Chelsea’s very different because they want to dominate the ball with Enzo. Then press you in a different way when they’ve got a lot of people around the ball in a similar way as Brighton the other night, so I think every team is different. I think you can take things from every game in every phase of the game, when you have the ball, when you’re without the ball, when you transition.”
Russell Martin mentioned the importance of learning from past matchups with Enzo Maresca’s teams and the evolving challenges both managers face this season.
Russell Martin said “They played us early on and it was probably a good time to play us at our place. Then it was probably a really bad time to play them at their place. We’d had a really difficult result at the weekend and they were in such a good place, very close to winning the league. They would have learnt a bit about us for sure but also I think his challenge is different now. He has very different players. Our challenge is different now. I think the context of the game is different. We do things a bit differently this year than we did last year. I think it’s going to be an exciting game and I think one we can definitely try and impose ourselves on.”