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“We were so close in so many games - Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Brighton away. We played some brilliant football. We were so close, and I felt like we were building. We got a really bad result, and I was gone. It was like, ‘OK’, because I was asked to play and develop young players. That’s football. I was angry and frustrated at that. Then Rangers, I’m angry at myself because of lots of things. It probably wasn’t the right fit for them or me.
That interview in full:
EXCLUSIVE: The big Russell Martin interview: The rebirth of Leicester City from 'game model' to building a new culture
An exclusive sit-down interview with Leicester City boss Russell Martin
By Josh Holland Leicester City correspondent
07:00, 27 Jul 2026
Russell Martin has been in charge of Leicester City for six weeks now, and the change in atmosphere around the club is impossible not to notice.
The former Southampton and Swansea City boss has spent the last four weeks with his new players, putting them through their paces with demanding workloads and implementing his “game model”.
Martin’s appointment was met with mixed reactions from those who fill the King Power Stadium, following his difficult and perhaps unfair ending at Southampton and his incredibly short spell at Rangers.
But Martin brings an abundance of qualities to Seagrave that have been lacking for some time. People who have spoken to LeicestershireLive, and who will remain anonymous, have all highlighted his desire to coach, his passion for the job, and his ability to build relationships with people around the football club.
But what was the thinking behind taking the job? What did he learn from his previous roles? What did he make of Leicester upon his arrival? What is the culture he is trying to build? And what is his view of his players ahead of the League One season?
For the first time since joining the club, Martin sat down with the Leicester Mercury's Josh Holland for an in-depth interview at Leicester's training base in southern Spain to answer all of those questions.
Martin was a name on Leicester's radar when the club explored its options following relegation from the Premier League. Ruud van Nistelrooy's exit at the end of June left City behind their rivals in the race to appoint a new manager, with Martin ultimately joining Rangers.
Once relegation to League One was confirmed, it became clear that Gary Rowett would not be given the keys to the desperately needed rebuild at Seagrave. After Darren Ferguson, Dave Challinor and Richie Wellens were all mentioned as ‘hard heads’ who could steady the ship, Martin's name returned to the conversation - and the club got their man.
“I could have gone back in earlier. I had job offers from abroad and this country throughout my time off,” he said when asked why the Leicester job was the right one for him. “Then this summer, I was very close to going abroad and then this club came in.
“I spoke to James [McCarron] and Jon [Rudkin], and then the ownership, and it became really clear that it was the one I was most excited about and where I wanted to be.
“One, because of the honesty over the past couple of years and where they felt it went wrong. There was real accountability in terms of: ‘This has been the problem, and this is why we’re interested in having you as our manager and what you can bring us.’ The conversations were really good.
“And just the size and stature of this club. It’s won the Premier League, has a huge fanbase, amazing facilities and brilliant young players. I was convinced that we were going to be able to do what we wanted to do in terms of the process and the work.
“For all those reasons, it ticked every box, and I feel like I’ve made the right choice. It really feels like that.”
The City boss has often been spotted in conversation with sporting director McCarron or chief football officer Rudkin, or both, before or after friendlies this summer. He has also made a point of getting to know the support staff away from the public eye - people who have helped make his transition into the club easier.
“The people have been great, really good people and have really brilliant knowledge and expertise in their areas,” he said. “I’m talking about the support staff. I’ve been so impressed with them.
“A lot of them have been here through some really successful periods, and it’s obviously been a difficult couple of years. It would be easier to walk into something and think there will be a problem there, but they’ve been brilliant.
“Everyone at the training ground has been really open and willing to take on board what we’re asking them in terms of behaviour and the process that we’re embarking on. I’ve been really impressed by that and pleased with that.”
There have been changes on the training ground, too. Harry Winks and Victor Kristiansen started pre-season with Leicester before being allowed to leave the club, while a large portion of the group featuring in pre-season has come from the academy.
The presence of Will Alves, Bade Aluko, Riley Carr, Tommy Neale and Jayden Joseph has been a breath of fresh air for supporters. A clip posted on social media by the club on Friday night showed Aluko, Carr and Neale playing darts, with fans raving about the youngsters being front and centre.
For Martin, the squad has been spot-on.
“On the playing front, it’s the same really for the players,” he said. “It’s easy to assume after two years that maybe the players are not fully invested, but I have to say, they’ve been really good.
“I know a lot of players have left already and I don’t judge what’s gone on previously, but from me coming in and giving people the clean slate, as much as possible, they’ve been fantastic to work with.
“They’ve worked so hard. Their willingness and what they’ve put on the pitch after three weeks in terms of their learning and understanding, I’ve been really impressed with. Now we have to keep pushing them and be really relentless with that. It’s exciting.”
One word Martin is not particularly fond of is ‘philosophy’, especially in football. The term ‘game model’ is increasingly used, but there is no single way of playing that can define every team.
Asked how supporters will be able to identify his Leicester side this season, Martin said: “The players will run really hard for each other, and we’ll play with a level of intensity and aggression, with and without the ball.
“We’ll try to be as dominant as we possibly can. They will be a team that fights and runs together and is together. That will be the most important thing.
“Regardless of all the tactics, we have to change things in some games. The philosophy in terms of behaviours will remain the same, but the game model might look different from one week to the next because of the problems we will face and the different solutions we will need.
“First and foremost, to fight, run, work, and be aggressive.”
He added: “After three and a half weeks, they’ve taken it on so quickly. They’ve been brilliant.
“There are moments in the games where it’s like, ‘OK, that looks exactly how we want it to look’, and there are some sticky moments because we’re learning and developing. I’ve been so impressed by their willingness and courage to do it. If they maintain that, it’ll be a really exciting season.”
Martin left Rangers in October after just 17 games, almost one year after being dismissed by Southampton. Both roles brought different lessons, on and off the pitch, and the City boss has reflected on the process during his time away from the dugout in the hope it will help make him a better manager.
“To be honest, Southampton frustrated me because I stuck to my side of the bargain,” he said. “We got them promoted after year one, we lost a really important person in the director of football [Jason Wilcox], who brought me to the club, and we didn’t replace him.
“Then in the Premier League, we looked at the squad, and we were weaker than we were in the Championship. We lost some big players like Che Adams, Stuart Armstrong and David Brooks, who was on loan.
“We made the decision there and then to sign some young players who could develop and, if we got relegated, would really help us the following year. So it was similar to Ipswich in terms of sticking with it and having continuity.
“In all the probabilities and data, the club was going to get relegated, but the club would have a right go. Actually, some of the things the boys were doing after the first few weeks, when there was a bit of anxiety and nerves about being in the Premier League, were great.
“We were so close in so many games - Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Brighton away. We played some brilliant football. We were so close, and I felt like we were building. We got a really bad result, and I was gone.
“It was like, ‘OK’, because I was asked to play and develop young players. That’s football. I was angry and frustrated at that.
“Then Rangers, I’m angry at myself because of lots of things. It probably wasn’t the right fit for them or me.
“It is what it is, but I learned so much from both of them. I love football, coaching, and managing, so I’ve been around and had the fortune, which you don’t often get, to watch so many clubs train in this country, Italy, Spain, and Germany.
“I was able to pick up things from different coaches and top coaches who have won many things, and build relationships. It’s been fascinating and really interesting. I’ve taken a lot from it.
“That’s why I was so excited to make sure the next one was right for me. Hopefully, I think I’m a better manager now than I was definitely two years ago, or a year ago, so hopefully we’ll benefit from that.”
The objective at Leicester is clear: promotion to the Championship. Martin knows what his team will have to do across the next 10 months to achieve it.
“We’re going to have to be willing to fight all the time,” he said. “To win duels, win battles and take the football. If we bring that all the time, hopefully, with the quality of players we have and the game model we have, it gives us a chance to be successful.
“Success means that we’re in the Championship next summer. That’s it. Then we can talk about anything else after that.”
Is he confident?
“We’ve not played one league game yet, but I’m confident that we’ll have a process, a game model and a squad capability that means we can achieve that,” he said. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here. If I didn’t think we could achieve that, I wouldn’t be here.
“So I’m really excited about it. I’m really hopeful. We’re going to have to have real humility because it’s going to be really tough. It’s not going to be easy. It’s never going to be easy.
“It’s an exciting challenge.”
