Sacked Southampton coach Russell Martin has defended his decision to haul off Kamaldeen Sulemana after just 15 minutes of play.

Kamaldeen made his first start for the Saints following a campaign blighted by injuries, but it turned out to be a night to forget on Monday when Spurs put three past Southampton just before a quarter of an hour played.

Despite eventually losing 5-0, Russell said the substitution “made sense.”

“We were 3-0 down in 14 minutes. We had to change the shape,” he said.

“So I feel for Kamaldeen, but we knew he was going to have to come off early at some point, he hasn’t played a lot, 55-60 was going to be his max. It made sense.”

Southampton relieved Martin of his duties after the thrashing by Tottenham, which left them nine points adrift of safety.

Under-21 manager Simon Rusk will take charge on an interim basis until a permanent coach is appointed.