Wolves secured their first win of the Premier League season, placing added pressure on Southampton manager Russell Martin.

Wolves' first victory of the Premier League campaign has relieved some of the pressure on manager Gary O’Neil ahead of the international break, but the result has had the opposite effect on Southampton boss Russell Martin.

Pablo Sarabia rounded goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and slotted into an empty net to give the hosts a 1-0 lead after just two minutes. The Saints thought they had equalised through Ryan Manning, but a VAR review saw the goal disallowed for a foul on Nelson Semedo by Mateus Fernandes. Matheus Cunha netted a second for the hosts to seal the win, moving Wolves up to 18th and pushing Southampton to the bottom of the table. The visitors were unhappy with the second goal, as a potential foul on Cameron Archer during the build-up was overlooked.

Although Southampton had 71 per cent possession, they failed to register a single shot on target. Martin appeared uncertain when discussing his future, stating that he “hopefully” would be addressing the media again after the international break.

He said: “We should be doing more with the ball. To come here and have as much of the ball as we did, especially in the final third, is not easy. If you’d told me before the match that we’d limit them to eight shots and be in and around their final third as much as we were, I’d expect us to have something to show for it. It’s not enough, and I guarantee I’ll be asked about the style of play. The team builds up to the final third in this structure so they can express themselves. We get into their box a lot in the first half, but we need to do more, for sure. It’ll be what it’ll be – we’ll work as hard as we can. The rest is out of my control, so I won’t worry. Hopefully, I’ll be speaking to you in two weeks.”

Reflecting on the VAR decisions, Martin added: “It’s not the reason we lost, but we’ve been on the receiving end of two very tough decisions that changed the game. I think their defender manages it really well. I don’t think he plays the ball; he tries to get his leg across Mateus. If he tries to play the ball and then Mateus affects him, I think it’s a foul. The fact he hasn’t tried to play the ball, I think it’s just normal contact – actually, I’d probably ask for a penalty in that instance, because he puts his leg across Mateus and the ball’s the other side of him. I think it’s an interesting decision.”