Martin on contributions of Stephens, Edozie and Fraser
Russell Martin was delighted to get captain Jack Stephens back into his starting line-up, as the defender returned in the 5-0 win over Swansea City.
The Boxing Day clash was the first start Stephens has made in four months, having picked up an injury against QPR in August that put him on the sidelines for a long spell.
He returned in a less familiar position of right-back, as Martin stuck with Jan Bednarek and Taylor Harwood-Bellis at the heart of his defence, while Kyle Walker-Peters was moved into a more attacking role.
“I’m sure people saw the line-up and wondered what we were doing with the shape and all that stuff, but he slotted in,” said Martin, who took Stephens off after 70 minutes.
“He can play anywhere and so can Kyle. We wanted Kyle's capability in the top end of the pitch today, because we felt the game might require that.
“Jack was fantastic. I thought he was really brilliant. He probably could have played 90 minutes, but we have another two games coming up in a very short space of time, so we thought we would get him off the pitch.
“It’s a real bonus he’s back in. He’s an amazing character, an amazing footballer as you saw today.
“He's in now and we need to find a way to get the best out of all of these players. He might play out of position sometimes. He might play somewhere else, Kyle might play somewhere else, but they're all so talented. It's up to us to make sure it works.”
Martin also spoke about the contribution against Swansea of Sam Edozie, who was a constant threat and who scored the second goal, as well as Ryan Fraser, who came off the bench to score with two phenomenal strikes.
On Edozie, Martin said: “He was brilliant. He got the goal because he pressed like a beast, and that's what we asked from him at half-time, to be two or three yards more aggressive in our positions and our mentality, and he was fantastic today.
“He's really again another player who came out of the team for a bit, worked hard, lots of honest conversation with me and Gilly going through his clips and he’s been amazing since he come back in and he's such a talented young player.
“We need to try and keep him in a place where he's in because he's just so direct, so aggressive, so brave. He's got so much potential.”
On Fraser, Martin said: “I think we'll probably end up fighting at some point soon if I don't put him in the starting eleven because he's desperate to play, but he impacts so well off the bench.
“But in all seriousness, he's been brilliant. He understands the role he's got at the moment with Sam doing what he's doing. When he comes on he has an impact in every single game, two goals and an assist, brilliantly taken.
“I’m delighted for him and he's been amazing. I think there was a few question marks about his character for whatever reason before he came, but hopefully he's showing everyone firstly what a talented player he is, but also what a brilliant character he is too around the group.”
