A Southampton player has been told to hand in a transfer request after being snubbed by Russell Martin.
The South Coasters put Preston North End to the sword on Tuesday evening, racing into a three-goal lead in the first half.
It sent out a real statement of intent to their automatic promotion rivals, as they closed the gap on the top two.
Martin was forced to make a late change to his line-up, as Gavin Bazunu picked up an injury, so in stepped experienced shot-stopper Alex McCarthy, despite not being in the squad initially.
That meant one Saints ace was snubbed.
Joe Lumley has been the second-choice keeper for much of the campaign, so when Bazunu had to drop out of the lineup, many were expecting him to make his first league start for Southampton.
Though, Martin opted for his third choice instead, which has caused some debate.
Speaking on the ‘What The EFL?!’ podcast, EFL pundit Adrian Clarke said: “If I’m Lumley, transfer request has gone in already.
“It’s an obvious lack of trust. How can you work with a manager that does that to you?
“It feels too harsh.”
Lumley can certainly feel hard done by and Martin even admitted, speaking post-match, that he expected him to be frustrated at his decision.
Asked by a reporter about his decision to leave Lumley out, Martin noted that he doesn’t have a nailed-down number one and two.
“I think I’ve said to the goalies of the season, I don’t really see it the same as any other position on the pitch,” The Saints boss explained.
“I think there’s this thing in England and maybe in football in general, you need to have a nailed number one or two.”
Martin continued: “But maybe it’s just deemed a bit different from the outside. I haven’t had a chance to explain to Joe properly the decision.
“I’m sure he’ll be very annoyed and frustrated and hurt but we will chat to him and explain to him why.
“Then how he reacts to that is his choice and we’ll see for Saturday if he’s going to play or not.”
So it seems Martin has left the door open for Lumley this weekend as he appeared to hint that he could yet start against Cardiff City.
Anyhow, Saints can’t afford to have a goalkeeping saga heading into the run-in, the former Swansea City manager must put his faith in one.
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