Martin confident Southampton can improve defensively this season

Despite winning promotion via the playoffs last season, keeping the ball out of the net was Southampton's Achilles heel at times last season.

They conceded 63 goals from 46 Championship games, more than fellow promoted sides Leicester City and Ipswich Town.

Saints managed that despite recording an xG against of 49, meaning the stats suggest they conceded 14 goals more than they should have. 

Martin has reassured supporters that the club have placed a heavy focus on improving their defensive record during the off-season.

Saints have acted quickly to reinforce Martin's defence this summer, adding Charlie Taylor, Ronnie Edwards, Nathan Wood and Yukinari Sugawara.

READ MORE: Who is Yukinari Sugawara and why have Saints signed him?

READ MORE: Martin confident Stewart can 'play a big part' for Saints in Premier League

"We have looked at the defensive side of things a lot. We made a change towards the end of the season which worked really well," he said.

“It will be down to personnel, how we assess it and how we see things, but we do need to be better at that.

“It was difficult coming in last year because when you are trying to play in a certain way you have to prioritise something.

“So we conceded a lot at the start. Then we went on a brilliant run and had the best defensive run in that period.

“Then we had another wobble where we conceded a lot, but we went back and focused on some key things again and the guys were great.

“There were a few anomalies last season, against Sunderland and Leicester, but we need to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

“That is my job. We need to get better at that for sure. We were the second best in the league for expected goals against but we conceded way too many.

“That was a problem for us. We have been having a look at that all summer. I’ve had many sleepless nights thinking about how to improve the defence.

"But that’s my job, to make sure we work on that. I am confident that we will.”