Martin deems outside criticism as less valuable for his Southampton team

While Martin acknowledges that his team has room for improvement, he prioritizes ensuring the satisfaction of his bosses and colleagues in his role.

In his pre-match press conference, Martin said: "I think you have to accept everything as a manager. I genuinely don't listen to very much of it.

"We have enough noise in our own minds as managers trying to pick the right team, trying to make sure we give the right info, watch the opposition and all of that.

"I don't really pay any attention to any of that. I didn't last year. We went 25 games unbeaten and I don't now. That's part of my growth as a human being.

"As a player, you listen and in the early stages of social media, you have a look and see what people are saying - a very, very long time ago.

"Then you realise actually what it's going to be and what it's turning into and what it's used for and how valuable that is. It's not very valuable."