Manager

Southampton appointed Russell Martin as the club’s latest manager in June 2023 to replace interim head coach Ruben Selles with the task of returning the Saints to the Premier League.

Selles enjoyed a brief stint at the St Mary’s Stadium helm in 2023 but failed to prevent the Saints’ relegation into the Championship. So, Southampton’s owners turned to Martin to steer the south coast side back into the top-flight.

Martin only began his managerial career with MK Dons in November 2019 after finishing his playing days at the Stadium MK outfit. He replaced Paul Tisdale and adopted an attractive possession-based brand of play, which subsequently caught the attention of Swansea City in the summer of 2021.

After taking over the Swans in August 2021, Martin led the south Wales side to 15th and 10th place finishes in successive Championship campaigns before Southampton came calling.

Southampton manager Russell Martin’s coaching career

Southampton decided to hand their managerial reigns to Martin, who put pen to paper on an initial contract until 2026, in June 2023. The likes of Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard and former Fulham boss Scott Parker were in the running for the St Mary’s gig but it was Martin who stood out for Southampton’s chiefs.

At the age of 37, Martin became one of the youngest managers to work in the Championship. The former Scotland international also immediately set out his aims of guiding Southampton back to the Premier League, where he believed they belonged.

Russell Martin’s Swansea and MK Dons manager spells

Before his appointment at Southampton, Martin shone while working as the manager of Swansea. He put himself on the coaching radar of the Saints as a result, particularly towards the end of his employment.

He was named as the manager of Swansea in August 2021 and led the Jacks through a season of inconsistency, albeit a transitional one. Martin respectably finished his debut campaign 15th in the Championship and managed to mastermind a nine-game unbeaten run towards the end of the season.

The following season was certainly an improved one as far as league placing was concerned with 10th place. But a run of just one win in 10 games from January to March put an end to Swansea’s play-off hopes. Despite the pressure he was under, Martin refused to compromise his expansive philosophy and it paid off in the end.

From March until the season’s end, the Swans went nine games without a defeat and Martin strengthened his backing amongst the Welsh club’s fanbase.

Before his Swansea spell, Martin also coached MK Dons in what was his first break into the world of management. He led the club through 80 games in all competitions and finished with a win percentage of 37.5% with 31 victories and 17 draws.

Russell Martin’s coaching career

Southampton (Manager, June 2023 – June 2027 expected)

Swansea City (Head Coach, August 2021 – June 2023)

MK Dons (Manager, November 2019 – August 2021)

Russell Martin’s playing career

Martin played for one semi-professional and six professional clubs during the current Southampton manager’s playing career. Those were firstly with Lewes and then with Wycombe Wanderers, Peterborough United, Norwich City on loan and permanently and Rangers on loan before stints with Walsall and MK Dons.

He is most renowned for Martin’s loyalty to the Canaries, however, after nine years with the Norfolk club, whom he even captained from 2013 until departing in 2018 via the mutual termination of the defender’s contract.

The Southampton boss played 309 games as a centre-back for Norwich, whilst scoring 17 goals and assisting a further 15. Martin even won promotion to the Premier League on two occasions with the Canaries, along with helping them win the League One title in 2009/10.

Martin even achieved promotion success earlier in his career with Peterborough United, whom he captained to promotion out of League One and into the Championship in 2008/09.

His only playing stint outside of England came with Rangers during the latter part of the 2017/18 campaign.

Despite being born on the English south coast in Brighton, Martin also represented Scotland at the senior international level on 29 occasions.

Having seen the centre-half fail to earn a single cap for England at any age level, Craig Levein gave Martin his Scotland debut at age 25 against Home Nations rivals Wales in May 2011.

Russell Martin as the manager of Southampton

Martin made his debut as the manager of Southampton with a Championship clash away to Sheffield Wednesday in August 2023 and enjoyed a 2-1 win.

His start at St Mary’s was also largely successful in the second tier with Martin not tasting a defeat until a 5-0 thrashing at Sunderland to start September. But the loss sparked a run of four-straight defeats, adding to Gillingham dealing Southampton a first-round exit from the EFL Cup.

But beating Leeds United 3-1 at St Mary’s helped Southampton get Martin’s first season as their manager back on track. It also sparked an unbeaten 22-game run that Bristol City ended in February 2024 following 16 wins.

Their form was largely inconsistent over the final 16 games of the season but Martin’s tactics secured a play-off berth in fourth place. Southampton missed out on automatic promotion by nine points to Ipswich Town before beating West Bromwich Albion 3-1 on aggregate and Leeds 1-0 in the final to return to the Premier League.