SAINTS boss Russell Martin dubbed Joe Aribo's man of the match performance against Coventry City "brilliant," adding: "He is a top player."

The Nigerian international stood out in Tuesday night's 2-1 victory, which has drawn Southampton closer to the automatic promotion spots. 

Aribo controlled the midfield, constantly showing for the ball and progressing play upfield quickly in Stuart Armstrong's absence.

Coventry struggled to stop Aribo from causing problems, resulting in them fouling him four times, more than any other player. 

READ MORE: Martin gives reason for Manning's Southampton squad omission

Asked for his verdict on Aribo's performance, Martin said: “He was excellent. His legs fell off a little bit towards the end of the game.

“That’s why he came off. He got a little bit looser with the ball than he had been, but he was tired. He hasn’t played a huge amount of minutes since he came back.

“It was a huge amount of minutes for him on Saturday and then against Coventry. Joe is a top player. It took him a while when he got back because he hadn’t played for three or four weeks at AFCON.

“He had a brilliant tournament with some fantastic experiences, but he came back and took a while to get back up to speed.”

Aribo has played 1,314 minutes across 31 appearances in all competitions for Saints this season, scoring three times.