Russell Martin to Southampton FC is ‘perfect’ appointment

Not only is new director of football Jason Wilcox now firmly in place, but the Sport Republic ownership have seemingly found their man to spearhead the Saints next season. Swansea City manager Russell Martin, who Saints fans might remember playing in the backline for Norwich City when they were in the Premier League, is the favourite to take charge.

But who is Russell Martin, what is his record as manager, what style of play will he bring to the south coast and will he be a sucess? Here is my verdict on the imminent appointment.

Russell Martin is an English professional manager and retired football player who is 37-years-old and was born in Brighton. He is currently in charge at Sky Bet Championship side Swansea City and previously managed Milton Keynes Dons between 2019 and 2022.

Across his 15-year playing career, Martin mostly played his trade as a central defender for Norwich City, who he initially joined on loan from Peterborough United in 2009 before making the move permanent a year later. He went on to captain The Canaries and accrue more than 300 appearances. Other previous teams include Wycombe Wanderers, Rangers, Walsall and MK Dons.

Martin also represented Scotland at international level, qualifying for the nation through his Scottish father. He made his debut against Wales in 2011 and went on to play 28 other games for his country.

In his personal life, Russell Martin established a charitable foundation in his hometown of Brighton called The Russell Martin Foundation which provides access to football, education and health courses in the local community. He has also been a vegan since 2014 in a decision to help his issues with ulcerative colitis, while he also part-owns Erpingham House which is the largest vegan restaurant in the UK.

Russell Martin has just under four years of experience as a professional football manager or head coach, first taking charge of MK Dons after hanging up his playing boots in November 2019. Even though his first season saw the club finish in 19th – with the season finishing prematurely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the second saw them 13th in League One when his side scored a record-breaking 56-pass move.

He was then appointed by South Wales outfit Swansea City in August 2021, guiding the team to a 15th place finish. In the recent Sky Bet Championship 2022/2023 season – which looks set to be his last at The Swans – they finished a respectable 10th.

Martin has built up a reputation of prioritising a possession-based style of play and has cited the likes of Pep Guardiola, Daniel Farke and Chris Hughton as his inspirations. He is known to set up his teams in either a 3-4-2-1, a 3-5-2 or 4-1-2-1-2 formation with an emphasis on passing the ball and pressing the opposition.

Following the conclusion of the 2020-2021 season, only Barcelona and Manchester City had a higher average possession percentage in Europe than Russell Martin’s MK Dons.

Talking about his tactics, Russell Martin said: “People still react to that and say it’s boring, but everyone has a different opinion, the more we have the ball, the more we can control the game and take the fight out of opposition teams. It’s a 90-minute game plan to try and dominate the ball.”

In the last few game weeks of the Premier League season, it had been confirmed that Southampton are amid interviewing candidates to replace current manager Ruben Selles. The likes of ex-Chelsea and Brighton boss Graham Potter, as well as former Aston Villa gaffer Steven Gerrard, and Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney have been heavily touted for the role.

But in recent days, the south coast club’s hierarchy has shown heavy interest in Swansea City manager Russell Martin and outlined him as one of their top targets to fast-track the club’s promotion from the Sky Bet Championship.

According to reports, Martin was scheduled to have a meeting with the Swansea ownership in the US this week over a new contract with 12-months left on his current deal. But due to interest in his services from the Saints, that meeting was cancelled and it has now been reported its more of a when the 37-year-old will take charge than if.

Southampton FC reporter for The Athletic Jacob Tanswell tweeted on 19 May: “Russell Martin is said to become #SaintsFC’s new manager. Martin remains in the UK despite scheduled talks with Swansea and though no formal approach has been made by Southampton, a deal is close”.

In terms of when the appointment is expected to made public, other media outlets like the BBC and Sky Sports have suggested that the announcement could be made as early as next week – just under a month before the start of what is a vital pre-season for Southampton Football Club.

When you have had the last couple of miserable seasons that Southampton fans have had to endure, there is always going to be some trepidation about Martin’s imminent appointment. Especially as owners Sport Republic got it so wrong previously with both Nathan Jones and Ruben Selles.

Yet this appointment, in my opinion, is the perfect fit for Saints. Not only does this show all the signs of a long-term plan to return to the Premier League, changing the club’s ethos from the physically demanding Red Bull pressing system, which was introduced by Ralph Hasenhuttl and mimicked by Selles, to something more possession based, but he is a young promising coach who is almost definitely going to be backed in the summer with a huge squad overhaul expected.

But one thing is for certain, Southampton fans must be patience this season. Martin’s Swansea team completed 27,339 passes this season which is 1,323 more than any other team in the Championship. Too many times at St Mary’s Stadium you’d hear boos and feel a nervous angst throughout the ground whenever the squad were not pumping the ball forward and just passing it around the back – something that will be commonplace when Big Russ takes the helm.

It is not going to be the scintillating football that the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Ronald Koeman and the aforementioned Hasenhuttl established. The Championship is renowned for being a physically demanding league with 46 games to play – eight more than the 38 games in the Premier League – so it’s a smart decision for Southampton to move away to something more apt with squad fitness in mind.

Pressure will be on Martin to get it right from the off as Sport Republic will want to return to the English top flight at the first time of asking, but in order to be successful we all need to be patient. After all we all want the same thing, Southampton Football Club to march on to the Premier League – back where they belong.