Southampton match-winner Che Adams impresses Russell Martin with his character

Southampton boss Russell Martin praised Che Adams’ character after he stepped off the bench to score a late winner as the Saints marked their Sky Bet Championship return with a 2-1 victory at Sheffield Wednesday.

Adams was left out in favour of Adam Armstrong, who gave the visitors the lead, but came on and changed the course of the game with his late strike that silenced the taunting home fans, who took a dislike to his former stint across the city at Sheffield United.

Martin, who was frustrated at Lee Gregory’s second-half equaliser for the Owls, revealed the club turned down a bid for the striker a fortnight ago and praised his attitude in dealing with both that and his omission from the staring line-up at Hillsborough.

“The hardest decision for the team was to decide which one we played, I think we can get both on the pitch as well,” Martin said of Adams and Armstrong.

“They both got a goal and the way Che reacted to not playing was amazing – brilliant energy and so respectful.

“There was a lot of noise around him, we turned down a bid for him a couple of weeks ago and nothing has happened since.

“The way he dealt with that is amazing. He got a nice reception getting off the bus from Sheffield Wednesday fans, so for him to score I am delighted.”

It was a promising start to the campaign for the Saints, back in the second tier for the first time in over a decade following last season’s Premier League relegation, and they posted 991 successful passes as they dominated possession.

There were times when they lacked a cutting edge, but Martin was happy enough at the start.

“They are top professionals and big characters to do what we asked them tonight, under big pressure,” he added.

“First game of the season, Hillsborough, Friday night. I am incredibly grateful for the mentality they showed. There will be loads to improve on from tonight.”

Sheffield Wednesday had a turbulent summer following their League One promotion last term, following Darren Moore’s exit and fan unrest at spiralling ticket prices.

New boss Xisco Munoz had only four weeks to prepare for the season and was still adding players to his squad in the build-up to this game.

“I think the team understand what we want, we were very close,” the Spaniard said.

“The reaction of the players in the second half was good. This is the best performance of the six games we have had.

“It is four weeks together, some players arrived yesterday.

“We need to follow this attitude. We know the opponent we had, they are very dangerous, you close your eyes two times and they hurt you.

“We were very close today. We need to improve.”