Russell Martin on his fresh challenge as a manager at MK Dons
MOST players compelled to retire at the age of 33 would be inconsolable. But not Russell Martin.
The former Scotland international didn’t suffer a serious injury. Nor have his legs slowed after 15 years at the top. In fact, he was named MK Dons’ player of the month just 30 days ago.
Yet even in his days as a Premier League stalwart at Norwich City, the right-back craved a seat in the dugout.
So when chairman Pete Winkelman sacked Paul Tisdale and offered Martin the chance to trade his No.16 shirt for a shot at management, he was only too happy to swap boots for brogues.
“I did my first coaching badge when I was 18,” explains Martin. “I’m on my Pro-Licence currently and I finished the LMA course in Applied Management last year.
“I’ve written everything down over the years. Things I like. Things to avoid. What I think worked in certain situations. I’ve logged it all. And I’m sure if you ask any of the people I played with, they’ll tell you that management is something I’ve been talking about for years.
Studied
“I’ve planned and studied for this moment half my life, so when the offer was made, I didn’t think twice. It’s probably come a bit earlier than most people would expect, including me. But I feel ready.”
If securing a dream job has ensured few regrets at the termination of his playing days, so has Martin’s conviction that he wrung the best from his limited ability.
A League Two player with Wycombe for the first four years of his career, he climbed two divisions in as many years with Darren Ferguson’s Peterborough, then joined Norwich at the genesis of their giddy ascent to the Premier League under Paul Lambert.
“I came in when they’d just started winning,” recalls Martin, who would remain at Carrow Road for the next decade.
“We were mid-table League One, which wasn’t great for a club like Norwich. But the atmosphere was buoyant.
“The biggest thing we had was togetherness and team-spirit. We had this belief that every game
I’ve planned and this studied for my moment half the offer life. When I was made, didn’t think twice. Russell Martin
we played, we could win it. The fans got caught up in it and the whole thing snowballed all the way to the Premier League. It was a wonderful team to play in.”
By the time all was said and done, the boy from Brighton had amassed 124 top-flight appearances, 29 caps for Scotland and five promotions.
“If you’d said to me at Wycombe that I’d go on to have the career I did, I’d have snapped your hand off,” he adds. “I’d have thought you were a bit mad as well!
“But I did believe in myself, to be fair. I maximised every bit of potential I had, just through sheer hard work and application. I obviously had a bit of talent to play at the levels I did, but it boiled down to pure endeavour in the end.
“Will I miss playing? Of course, but there are no regrets. I’m proud of what I have achieved, and very grateful for that career. But now it’s time to start another one.”
Martin’s big break came after the dismissal of Tisdale. The architect of the Dons’ promotion to League One last season, the former Exeter boss had presided over one win in 11 games and was fired following a 3-1 defeat to Tranmere last weekend. Does Martin know what went wrong?
“It’s not one thing,” he says. “It’s a lot of problems that end up accumulating. On the pitch, the biggest thing is our work out of possession. Get better off the ball, and everything should come off the back of that.
Confidence
“The most important thing now, though, is getting our confidence back – and quickly. Short term, we need to find a way of playing that suits us, and that will win matches by any means necessary.
“This job, it’s all about people. It’s about managing personalities and finding strategies to maximise a person’s potential. Building belief in themselves and what they’re doing. That’s the same for a football manager as it is for the chief exec of a global company.”
And when it comes to managing people, Martin scoffs at suggestions his closeness to the players will undermine his authority as a leader.
“Why should it?” he explains. “I’ve got a great relationship with the players. There’s a lot of warmth between us. A lot of respect and trust. I only see that as being an advantage.
“You can be warm and firm at the same time. It’s not soft to maintain that relationship. I’ll be honest with the lads, I hope they’ll be honest with me.
“And I think it’s a great starting position if you know what makes individuals tick. It has to be better than coming in cold and taking three or four months to work that out.
“I’ve been fortunate to work for some top managers. Paul Lambert. Chris Hughton. Gordon Strachan with Scotland.
Alex Neil, who is doing a brilliant job at Preston. Tactihe cally, is exceptional. Darren Ferguson at Peterborough was excellent, a really good man-manager.
“You have to be your own man, of course. You have to be authentic, with your own style and philosophy. But all of those things are the result of your experiences. And the biggest thing for me as a player was honesty. Whether I’d played poorly or well, I just wanted to be told.
Honest
“If someone’s honest with you, you might not like it but you have to respect it. The best managers I’ve worked with are the ones who just told it straight. That’s what I believe in and that’s what I’ll be doing.”
Speaking of beliefs, Martin is also a paid-up member of the Green Party who follows a vegan diet and drives an electric car. Colleagues at his previous clubs will attest to being badgered to turn off taps and lights by a man passionate about ecological issues. Does he see his new role as a platform to promote a green agenda?
“I’ll always try to publicise the message,” he says. “But I’ve always tried not to push my political beliefs on people, because that can do more harm than good. If I get asked about it, of course I’ll state my case. And maybe this job does give me more of a public stage.
“To be honest, I haven’t thought about that aspect of things. If we get things right on the pitch, all that stuff will come afterwards. That’s my only focus now.”
The best managers are the ones who just told it straight. That’s what I believe in and what I’ll be doing Russell Martin