Forget Armstrong: Southampton star who Martin dubbed ‘class’ will be key to unlocking PNE

Southampton’s promotion push resumes Thursday evening when they host Preston North End at St Mary’s Stadium.

Russell Martin’s side must now shift their attention to the Lancashire outfit, who are coming into the game full of confidence.

Preston are currently in ninth place, four points below the play-off spots, and are aiming for a top-six finish.

The visitors have won four of their previous six games and preserved three clean sheets, making them a difficult team to break down.

Having said that, Bournemouth loanee David Brooks might play a key part in breaking down the impregnable defence, which has conceded only three goals in the last five games.

David Brooks could frustrate Preston North End

Martin dropped Adam Armstrong in last month’s defeat to Millwall and is still upset about the decision.
“I am still annoyed at myself for taking him out of the team,” the Saints manager told the Daily Echo. “I think we’re a better team having him on it. In retrospect, I should not have, but we believed there was justification for him needing to relax.

“We thought we would be okay without him and we weren’t so it’s testament to how good he has been.”

While Armstrong is undeniably influential for Southampton, Brooks will be crucial in tonight’s game.

 

Russell Martin aware of David Brooks’ quality

Since his debut in February, the left-footed wide player has scored five goals in seven games for the South Coasters, two more than Armstrong in the same time frame.

Martin is well aware of Brooks’ abilities, and last month confessed that he is better than he had imagined.

“I think he’s a wonderful player and person. “He’s even better than I thought he was, and I already had a high opinion of him,” the 38-year-old stated last month.

“He ended up playing two positions for us on Saturday and did both with real quality and class.”

So, considering Martin’s past comments, is he putting too much emphasis on Armstrong when he has a player of Brooks’ caliber at his disposal?

Perhaps his side selection tonight should be designed to play to the skills of the Wales international, rather than focusing only on playing everything via Armstrong.