RUSSELL SO KEYNE TO TASTE SUCCESS AS DONS MANAGER
RUSSELL MARTIN is undaunted by the challenge of managing MK Dons after overcoming serious illness during his long playing career.
The former Scotland defender was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis while at Norwich in his early 20s and is now happy to talk about its embarrassing effects.
‘When I was first diagnosed I was really rough with it,’ recalls Martin. ‘I was taking shots of Imodium to stop myself going to the toilet in training.
‘I was losing a lot of blood and losing weight. I was managing to get through training but it completely wiped me out.
‘I was going home and pretty much lying on the bathroom floor because I was on the toilet so much. I couldn’t go out anywhere with the worry of needing to go. I got caught short a few times – even travelling to games.
‘I always had to have spare clothes with me. But Norwich were great.’
Martin saw specialists and strong medication eased the problem before a switch to a mostly vegan diet – ditching coffee, dairy, red meat and the little alcohol he drank – allowed him to drop the meds.
The 34-year-old is now an ambassador for Crohn’s and Colitis UK, and adds: ‘It is really difficult to talk about for a lot of people. My friends and family laugh at the amount of times I have s*** myself.
‘I talk to young people who are struggling with it but want to carry on playing sport and hopefully I can make a difference.’ Martin is careful not to over-preach the benefits of vegan food to his players but does frown upon red meat before a game.
He is part owner of the UK’s largest vegan restaurant, Erpingham House in Norwich, while an outlet in his native Brighton opened four days before the first lockdown.
‘It wasn’t ideal timing,’ he says but a London pop-up is still planned for January. He feels the project, which began in his playing days, gave him pointers for being a football boss.
‘It made me realise the importance of getting good people you can trust and building on relationships,’ he says of traits he wants at MK Dons.
‘I give the players a strong behavioural framework. They have certain expectations they have agreed – how they are going to recover after games and prepare. They go in the gym – they don’t need nudging now. They are doing extra and pushing each other on. They realise it is about continuous improvement, as people, as players.
‘We spent a lot of time communicating about their behaviour, not just on the pitch – the day-to-day conduct, body language and eye contact.’
Martin is also trying to bring back a passing style and says: ‘We are getting there slowly but surely. Performances are improving all the time.’
Having initially arrived in Milton Keynes as a player in January 2019, Martin hung up the boots when he replaced Paul Tisdale as manager just over a year ago.
‘Going from a player to manager was an interesting change in dynamic,’ he admits. ‘The relationship with the players changes really quickly. I am really enjoying it and have not missed playing one bit. I’ve been too busy.’
Even though his predecessor Tisdale was sacked a few months after winning promotion, Martin is unfazed by the pressure that comes with the job.
‘As a player you are always one game from being replaced,’ he says. ‘People are brought in every transfer window to try and replace you. I don’t perceive it as pressure now. I see it as a real privilege to have this opportunity.’
Although his side are just two points outside the relegation zone ahead of Burton’s visit tomorrow, Martin adds: ‘You have to manage the club as if you are going to be there for the rest of your life. I am ambitious and have high hopes for this group of players.
‘I want to manage at the highest level and want to do that at this club.’