From Adam Blackmore:-
Every time Russell Martin speaks I see an authentic person.
I can't say the same about all the managers I've worked with over the years, but he shares the sort of authenticity I appreciated with Mauricio Pochettino, Nigel Adkins and Ralph Hasenhuttl.
They are all very different but all very genuine in my view. And you may ask me how am I judging that?
We all perform to a certain degree in the public domain - some more than others - but for me it's the moments most people don't see, or the small comments that might go unnoticed.
Maybe it's just an act for the microphones and the cameras from all of them.
As I'm writing this column, I'm actually doing it on a whim.
I'd planned to write about something else, but my thoughts were drawn towards the way Russell Martin has spoken this week - both off the record to me in private before our fans forum or in his latest press conference.
So this column is a sort of example of authenticity. I'm writing how I feel about something, not writing because I need 600 words. And it's actions from the three previous Saints managers I've highlighted that set them apart for me.
With Nigel Adkins it was the massive hug he gave me without saying a word when he saw me for the first time after my step-daughter had passed away from cancer in 2012. With Poch it was the pulling me into his office with his coaching team to explain things or taking me into his manager's office for a chat at Spurs after he'd moved to London. And with Ralph it was the sheer look of exhaustion and deflation and sadness on his face in the tunnel after Saints defeats. He absolutely lived and breathed the job and he couldn't hide his emotions - it mattered.
Martin's quiet confidence 'rubbing off' on players and fans
None of these managers were just 'in a job' because it didn't matter if it didn't go well. They got the club and they got the fans.
Russell Martin is quickly heading in the same direction. He's self-deprecating, relaxed and honest. During a month in which he's seeing prize assets leave the club one by one, weakening his squad almost by the day, a lesser man would be in press conferences or in front of cameras pushing his own agenda, bleating about how he's working with one hand tied behind his back, making unsubtle digs about needing to spend money or, worse, giving excuses about why they might not win a game.
He's done none of that. He's been all-in with the club's strategy, he's accepted it's a time of churn and change, and whenever he is asked about an opponent being tough or good, he makes sure he is backing his team to win, whilst being respectful of the team and manager he's facing.
It's a calm, quiet, inner confidence in himself and in his methods. And it's starting to rub off on the fans and the players. Long may it continue, even in dark times, because there will be some.
Honestly, on the evidence so far, I'll be surprised if he does change as a person, and that's to his credit. As he said to me, you want people to think well of you when you see them in the future.
