Southampton faces a difficult summer in terms of contract negotiations, and manager Russell Martin has offered an update on two of his first-team players.
Southampton are competing for promotion at the top of the Championship. Despite trailing table-toppers Leeds United by nine points, the Saints can reduce the margin to three by winning their two games in hand.
With many dismissing Southampton’s automatic promotion chances, Russell Martin feels playing the underdog position benefits his team.
“We need to take care of ourselves. “The beautiful thing for us is that everyone has written us off,” Martin remarked during a news conference on Thursday.
“We have averaged two points a game and we have been completely written off which is really interesting and shows the quality of the other teams.”
The Saints will seek to make it three Championship wins in a row when they face Middlesbrough at home this afternoon, with players vying for contracts at St Mary’s.
Who’s out of contract at Southampton in 2024?
Three of Southampton’s first-team players’ contracts expire this summer, while numerous loan players will return to their parent clubs.
Martin wants to sign Flynn Downes on a permanent basis after the 25-year-old impressed while on loan at West Ham.
