Martin disappointed with first-half display and set-piece goal

Morgan Gibbs-White scored the only goal of the game 20 minutes from time – the decisive moment of Saints’ first competitive home game since the triumphant Championship play-off semi-final second leg against West Brom.

Martin was not satisfied with the way his team started the game, and the manner of the winning goal, which came after Saints were unable to clear a Forest corner.

“First half I was frustrated with the performance, but I understand it,” the manager reflected. “I’ve been there – the eagerness to really show what you can do in the first game back, a bit of tension.

“We didn’t start the game well, and then we tried to make up for that by really forcing the ball and really trying to impose ourselves on the game, which is a really good mentality, but we didn’t do enough to make them work, or to open up the gaps.

“We turned the ball over a lot – way too much for us. They’re a big threat on the transition, with real quality at the top end of the pitch. Even in the Premier League, what they have is really top quality.

“Second half, from 45 minutes until 70 odd, we were good. We were so on top, we were in control, we had the ball a lot in their final third, but it needs to come to more in terms of chances.

“That’s about mentality and quality, and really believing you can go and do that. There wasn’t quite enough of that, and that’s probably a hangover from Newcastle and the frustration, where we should’ve scored two or three goals.

“It needs to come to more, but the game looked much more like it should, and much more us, but then we concede a really bad goal from the second phase of a set play, which I’m so annoyed about, because the game shouldn’t be decided on that.”

Martin took heart from his players’ willingness to keep working and keep pushing for a late leveller, but felt they needed to commit more players into the box.

“It’s just the next bit now – the next level of intensity and mentality,” he added. “They are fighting hard, they’re running hard. You can see that with the recovery runs in the 93rd minute when they have a counter from a set play.

“They’re giving us everything, we just need a little bit more around the final third and I’m sure we’ll get that. We don’t possess the quality Forest have, or the power at the top end of the pitch, so we have to do it in a different way.

“When Charlie Taylor crosses at the end and it flashes across goal, and Sam Edozie crosses, we need people literally giving everything they’ve got to make the goal. We’ve got too many players watching the ball, so you need to go and make that happen.”