Russell Martin said he was "hurt" by Southampton's first-half performance and he did not recognise his side in an abject 3-1 loss to south coast rivals Bournemouth. (More Football News)
The Saints found themselves 3-0 down at the break at the Vitality Stadium on Monday as goals from Evan﷽ilson, Dango Ouattara and Antoine Semenyo had Bournemouth in cruise control.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis gave Southampton a fighting chance early in the second half but the damage was already🎃 done, leaving Martin's men winless and with a just a solitary point from six Pr𒁃emier League games.
"It [the first goal] disrupts everything, not just concentration. We started r🐽eally well with two good moments in the game," the Southampton boss told Sky Sports.
"We showed the guys how Bournemouth like to play quick free-kicks, but we switched off in exactly the same way we did against [Manche❀ster] United and we again didn't respond well after a set-back.
"I'm so hurt by the first-half performance after th🔯e first goal - I didn't recogn🌜ise our team.
"Normally I'm proud of them for the coura꧂ge they show, b♊ut there was no aggression, no courage, no intensity to play. They were in self-preservation mode on the pitch and the body language I didn't recognise.
"I didn't recognise them and I didn't like it one bit. In the second half we showed a lot of fight and courage but it w♍as too late. It's on me to give them the too👍ls to come back from a setback but we have not learned from the Manchester United game two weeks ago and that's a problem.
"We were soft. If you do 🦩not run and fight, make contact and take thingꦿs personally then it's going to be a problem."
He added: "I have to question myself. I thought I made enough of a deal about how Bournemouth approach the game and how they are good at ce🌜rtain things but it looks like we were unprepared and considering the work we have done is crazy.
"I will never ever blame a group of players𒈔, we're together but I didn't like what I saw and am hurt by the lack of spirit and fight, that's nothing I've not told the team. It's my problem to sort out.
"I didn't identify my team in the first half in terms of attitude, spirit and fight. I didn't get this far as a player or a manager on just talent, it's about mentality and I've not 🐽passed that on enough to the players."
Semenyo scored his third Premier League goal of the season with a w𓂃onderful solo effort that rounded off an opening period of Bournemouth dominance, while the first was a bit of quick thinking from Marcus Tavernier to set up Evanilson's first for the club.
Semenyo told Sky Sports: "We watched a couple of videos in the meetings in the week and we knew we ♕could catch them out with quick free-✅kicks.
"Buzziജng for Evanilson - he is going be a problem this year.&𒈔quot;
On his own effort, he adܫded: "It felt wonderful. I wanted to create space and get a shot away.
"It𓆉 rifled in the bottom corner, a great finish."
