Russell Martin acknowledged he was “angry” after his side squandered two key points against Middlesbrough.
Emmanuel Latte Lath’s 90th-minute equaliser gave the visitors a 1-1 draw and ended their hopes of instant promotion to the Championship.
Adam Armstrong appeared to have propelled the Saints to their 23rd victory of the season with his 30th goal contribution in the Championship this season, more than any other player.
But Ivorian Latte Lath scored his tenth goal of the season late on to extend Boro’s unbeaten streak to five games.
The Saints ended their 20-day hiatus since their last game with a goal within 12 minutes.
“They were annoyed,” Martin told the Daily Echo when asked about the group’s reaction at full-time.
Waiting for Russell Martin, but a few of the talking points for me from that game up now.
Interested to hear Martin's take. Many of the same messages again, I expect – and he'll be right.#SaintsFC https://t.co/U701hNwLAq
— Alfie House (@AlfieHouseEcho) March 29, 2024
“I was so angry after the game that I had to take some time to talk with them. I’m incredibly unhappy; we had some huge opportunities, but that’s football sometimes.
“If you are not going to be clinical in that regard, you must adequately argue your position. We did not do that.
“I am really pleased with a lot of the performance, the only bit I am not pleased with is the 15 minutes before halftime,” he said.
“We ran out of energy a little bit, and I think if that didn’t happen, we’d go into the break quite differently, but they believe there is a chance.
“I’m not sure what’s going on; perhaps it’s because there hasn’t been a game in three weeks and many players have left.
“We had a lot of chances and could have won by a few goals, but we didn’t, which hurts.
“The opportunity was there when you see the result at Leicester, but I do think there will be twists and turns.”
He continued, “There will be some bizarre results because the conclusion of the season does strange things to teams and makes them feel pressurized.
“We need to make sure we bounce back and nobody needs to build up that game on Monday.”
Adams, who has ten goals this season, squandered two good opportunities in the two minutes following his goal being ruled out for offside.
Martin doesn’t blame the Scotland international, who is out of contract at the end of the season.
The boss stated, “He will be frustrated because he did not score, but that is normal; we are human beings.”
“He was not the reason we didn’t win; we still need to defend effectively. Adam Armstrong was quite disappointed because he missed two opportunities.
“We will be looking for the players to build on that and add a little bit I think we can help with, what a brilliant way to take our frustration out with a big game on Monday.”
