With so many games to be played in such lit­tle time, Rus­sell Mar­tin will need to rely on squad depth to ensure max­i­mum out­put at the busi­ness end of a long cam­paign.

The need for changes will open oppor­tu­ni­ties for play­ers to make a late claim for a start­ing berth as Saints gun for a return to the Pre­mier League.

Here are some play­ers we feel could ben­e­fit the most from Southamp­ton’s com­pact sched­ule…

James Bree

Full-back James Bree is yet to start a game since return­ing from the injury he suf­fered in Southamp­ton’s win at QPR just before Christ­mas.

His first appear­ance back came against Sun­der­land last time out when he was intro­duced from the bench with 17 min­utes to go.

Capa­ble of play­ing on the right and left, Bree’s ver­sa­til­i­ty will open up plen­ty of oppor­tu­ni­ties for him to get min­utes when Mar­tin looks to rotate the defence.

Ryan Man­ning’s late call-up to the Repub­lic of Ire­land squad could also be a bless­ing for Bree as Southamp­ton host Mid­dles­brough just after the inter­na­tion­al break.

James Bree has made 11 league appear­ances this sea­son (Image: PA)

Shea Charles

Con­sid­er­ing this is only his first sea­son as a full-time senior pro­fes­sion­al, Shea Charles can be hap­py with his involve­ment for Southamp­ton.

The North­ern Ire­land inter­na­tion­al has played 1,664 min­utes across all com­pe­ti­tions since arriv­ing from Man­ches­ter City’s under-21s.

A busy sched­ule will present more chances for him to take to the field and con­tin­ue his devel­op­ment at club lev­el.

Expe­ri­enc­ing the highs and lows of a tight pro­mo­tion run-in will only aid his career in years to come — in turn help­ing Saints.

Kamaldeen Sule­m­ana

Although he has shown plen­ty of bright spots, Kamaldeen Sule­m­ana is still wait­ing to get going in a Southamp­ton shirt.

The Ghana­ian inter­na­tion­al arrived for a club-record fee last sea­son, how­ev­er, has pro­vid­ed just six goal con­tri­bu­tions since then (two goals and four assists).

Southamp­ton are well-stocked in the wide areas and the inten­si­ty required in that role will allow plen­ty of oppor­tu­ni­ties for play­ers to make a mark from the bench.

Kamaldeen is still hunt­ing for his first goal of this cam­paign. Rus­sell Mar­tin believes that once he gets his first, the goals will start flow­ing. Now is the per­fect time for that to hap­pen.

🥶 @Kamaldeenho10 pic.twitter.com/FiPjqloLFo

— Southamp­ton FC (@SouthamptonFC) March 19, 2024

Joe Roth­well

Sim­i­lar­ly to Charles, Joe Roth­well’s min­utes in mid­field could ben­e­fit from the even more tight­ly com­pact Cham­pi­onship cal­en­dar.

The 29 year old has pri­mar­i­ly served as Stu­art Arm­strong’s under­study since join­ing on loan from AFC Bournemouth, but the Scot will not be able to start all 10 of Southamp­ton’s remain­ing games.

Roth­well has already shown he can pro­duce game-chang­ing moments when Saints real­ly need them. That could make him one of Mar­t­in’s go-to sub­sti­tutes when required.