WE have seen first-hand the work and level of detail that goes into Southampton's set-piece routines, in both attack and defence.

During our pre-season trip to Girona for the summer camp, manager Russell Martin pulled back the curtain on his training sessions.

Assistant boss Matt Gill and coach Colin Calderwood lead the side's set-piece tutelage with clearly detailed walkthroughs in team shape.

Last season, in which they eventually won promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs, Saints staff prided themselves on their dead ball record.

This Premier League campaign has been at the opposite end of the spectrum. Set-pieces have been a complete disaster with no signs of improvement.

Saints are the worst team in the division on set-piece goals conceded and the 98th-minute sucker-punch in the 3-2 defeat to Leicester City is the worst yet. 

Foxes striker Jordan Ayew could not believe his luck when he was presented with six yards of space in the opposition box on the final kick of the game. 

Former England international Jamie Carragher, analysing the goal, said: "Southampton had been done with a corner on the edge of the box against Ipswich a few weeks ago.

"Harry Winks is on the ball. It's going to be an outswinger, it's very difficult for him to get the ball into the six-yard box. It's always coming away from the goal.

"I don't think it's been worked on by Leicester. Ayew comes back to the ball to get it when normally you would have an attacker arriving onto it.

"As players, you don't need a set-piece coach for that. It's obvious. That's where the space is, whip it in and you get the result from it."

Matt Le Tissier posted on X: "Still not learning to have a man on the edge of the box at corners is shocking. Did we not learn from the Ipswich game?"

Martin stopped short of naming the culprit but he insisted the concession was the fault of one individual player who did not do their job properly.

After the match, he said: "Someone doesn't do what they're asked to do from a corner again, same as Ipswich and then we concede a goal.

"We were down to 10 men and had a few subs on but one person had one job to do that would have stopped that goal and they didn't."

It is hard to determine exactly who that player is and would not be fair to speculate - but the end result is that they are all miles away.

No team has conceded more from set plays than Saints, with Ayew posting the seventh for the opposition against Martin's side this campaign.

Saints were proactive last season and hired former Brentford and Arsenal man Andreas Georgson - a coup for the Championship - in August.

Saints set-piece coach Andreas Georgson departed after four monthsSaints set-piece coach Andreas Georgson departed after four months (Image: SFC)

However, the Swedish coach had departed by Christmas to become manager of Lillestrom and is now working on set pieces at Manchester United.

The 42 year old ironically helped mastermind the Red Devils' 3-1 win at St Mary's this season, with two goals coming from dead ball scenarios.

The foundations Georgson put in place during his short stint at the club were strong enough for Gill and Calderwood to continue his good work last year. 

The Premier League is a ruthless step up, however, and the proof is in the pudding. Right now, Saints are undeniably weak in this area.

They are one of only eight Premier League sides without a dedicated set-piece coach. Wolves, who have also conceded seven from dead balls, are also among the eight.

It seems a no-brainer to seek expertise elsewhere, in doing so freeing up more time for Gill and Calderwood to put their skills to use in other parts of the game.

Their set-piece weakness is not for a lack of effort or detail but it has been telling in the first eight matches of the Premier League season.

Any team already up against the tide of the country's richest can ill afford to be weighed down further by deficiency in a simple part of the game.