What Russell Martin said when he was sacked by Southampton FC as he heads for Leicester City | OneFootball

FLW has taken a look back at what Russell Martin said after his sacking by Southampton amid suggestions he is going to Leicester City.

As both Southampton and Leicester City prepare themselves for a return to the Championship next season, former Saints boss Russell Martin looks set to become the new Leicester City boss.

The former Swansea City and Milton Keynes Dons manager was sacked by Southampton in mid-December before Ivan Juric then oversaw their relegation with Simon Rusk now in charge on an interim basis at St Mary’s.

Leicester have also suffered from a poor season in the top-flight with Ruud van Nistelrooy expected to depart the King Power Stadium this summer, having replaced Steve Cooper a couple of weeks before Martin’s sacking.

A couple of years ago, Leicester won the second-tier title under the management of Enzo Maresca, whilst Martin guided Saints to promotion via the play-offs with a defeat of Leeds United at Wembley Stadium.

As they both look set for respective rebuilds over the summer, Martin appears likely to take on the reins at the Foxes so Football League World has had a look back at what the former Scotland international said after being sacked by Saints earlier this season.

Martin to learn from Premier League experience

In his first interview since departing St Mary’s, as reported on by the Daily Echo after appearing as a guest on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football back in March, Martin discussed what went wrong and what he didn’t necessarily plan for an expect when coaching in the top-flight.

The 39-year-old said: “I think the biggest surprise for me was just the athleticism and power. The individual quality and the ruthlessness of the Premier League now. I think it’s just gone up a notch just because of the quality of the talent and the level of athleticism in each team.”

Martin discussed what he would have changed or done differently, too, as he reflected upon his short spell coaching in the Premier League for the first time:

“I think recruitment in the Premier League is so important also the athleticism is so, so important.

Even if we wanted to play in the way that we wanted to, to try and dominate the ball, I would prioritise more athleticism if we did it all over again.

If I look back now at the start of the season in the summer, I would have put way more onus on fouling quickly. We needed to be more horrible out of possession. We were pressing a lot, but more detail with that about making contact earlier.”

He was also keen to express the disappointment and frustration he felt by the decision: “I’m frustrated I’m not there anymore but now I know the journey must start somewhere else. I’m enjoying a break, it’s been a lot for 20 years. It’s my first break from football in 20 years.

“I think it’s really difficult to balance being a manager, you have to go in with a long-term view and strategy but short-term, game-to-game, you have to try and fix problems. Try and make sure you’re in a hob long enough to see out your plans. When I signed a new contract in the summer, I was really hoping to.

“It’s always tough when you get promoted to the Premier League, it’s tough for any team but I felt we had a lot of young players and we were trying to grow something.

“Am I surprised by it in football? No, not at all. Of course, I’m disappointed but it’s been so much learning. I’ve learned so much so I feel we’ll definitely be better for it.”

As well as speaking about what he would have perhaps done differently, the former Norwich City captain was also keen to simply acknowledge his mistakes, too:

“I see to many managers and speak to so many coaches who came in to watch us work. After they lose their job, they feel regretful that they too much of what they wanted at the very beginning.

“I don’t feel we did that. I have disappointments over maybe making too many changes or adapting to much.

“The biggest challenge for me was convincing everyone they belonged there and without evidence of winning games, that becomes very difficult.”

Leicester will be hopeful with those Martin learnings

As Martin embarks upon what is another big job in the Championship, Leicester supporters may be comforted by his acknowledgement of things that went wrong and an apparent understanding of what to do differently.

Martin is an ideologue of a coach with an extreme possession-based style of football and the biggest criticism labelled at him would be the lack of pragmatism and inability to adapt, often appearing naive.

Given his statements after his sacking by Saints, there is a reasonable indication that he knows what went wrong when they got up and how he would approach it if he was to guide Leicester to an immediate return to the Premier League.

The Foxes played a similarly deliberate and complex, passing style of football under Maresca so the squad and setup should be more than capable for Martin to implement his ideas and, in the longer-term, his experience of the top-flight should only be a benefit, too.