Leicester City’s decision to appoint Russell Martin as their next manager is brave — one that risks widening the rift with their disgruntled fans.
After back-to-back relegations to drop from the top flight to League One, there are a large number of Leicester supporters whose faith in the decision-makers is eroded beyond repair. Many are eager for a change of ownership a decade on from their Premier League title.
Martin was first linked with the position two years ago, during the final days of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s tenure when Leicester’s second relegation from the Premier League in three seasons had been confirmed. On the final day of that season, the travelling fans at Bournemouth made their feelings known about the potential appointment.
Now, after relegation and regular fan protests against the board, chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha has revisited that move and turned to a man many do not seem to want. It could be the biggest gamble of the King Power era and it will raise the stakes this season — with promotion vital if the club’s senior management are to salvage any credibility.
So why have Leicester turned to Martin? What will he bring in the third tier, and how will the fans react this time?
What attracted Leicester to Martin?
First there is his availability. Martin has been out of work since being sacked by Rangers in October 2025 after just 123 days in charge, the shortest tenure of any permanent manager in their history. Rangers were eighth in the Scottish Premier League at the time.
He had been sacked by Southampton during the 2024-25 campaign. Having guided them to promotion through the play-offs, he was dismissed in December 2024 after a 5-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. It was his side’s 13th defeat in 16 league games.
His reputation as a bright young coach with a clear footballing philosophy — “The more we have the ball, the more we can control the game and take the fight out of opposition teams,” Martin told journalists after being appointed manager of Swansea City in 2021 — was damaged.
There was widespread criticism that he was too wedded to that style, an approach that required much better players to operate against the best club sides in the Premier League.
Russell Martin consoles Tyler Dibling as Southampton sink without trace against Tottenham in his last match in charge (Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
But it is that philosophy that appeals to the Leicester ownership.
This has been the first appointment made by new sporting director James McCarron, who was recruited last season from the City Group. McCarron comes from an organisation that values the principles of a possession-based style of play, similar to the approach implemented by Enzo Maresca when he led Leicester to the Championship title in 2024.
Chairman Khun Top was a big fan of that approach. In his first interview in the UK in 10 years last season, he spoke openly about his desire to see Leicester playing in a similar way again and voiced his disapproval over more direct styles. Khun Top wants that possession-based style, and McCarron’s background was a big reason why he was chosen to take on the sporting director role. His choice of Martin follows suit.
Leicester view Martin as a similar appointment to Maresca. Like the Italian, Martin wants his teams to control games through patient ball retention and buildup play, particularly in the final third. Indeed, the only team to enjoy more possession than Leicester in the Championship three years ago was Southampton.
What attracted Martin to Leicester?
Despite all the problems at the club and their position in League One, Leicester is still an attractive proposition for an up-and-coming manager — which Martin remains at 40.
The resources have been hugely impacted by their decline. They will have to slash their budgets massively after years of huge financial losses, and suffered a six-point deduction last season for a breach of Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), which helped condemn them to relegation.
They must offload a number of their high earners, especially England international Harry Winks, central defender Jannik Vestergaard and left-back Victor Kristiansen, as well as some of the club’s highly sought-after young talents.
But, on the flip-side, Martin has a blank canvas to shape the squad and ensure he has a team who can play his way. Leicester have been stuck with largely the same group for some time, but this will be a summer of change.
Stephy Mavididi, Ricardo Pereira, Harry Winks and Jannik Vestergaard could be among the players Leicester City look to move on this summer (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Were there other contenders?
Typically for Leicester, it seems to have been a strange managerial pursuit.
Darren Ferguson was initially the front runner and Gary Rowett, who stepped in to try to save Leicester from the drop for the last 14 games of the season, stated he would be up for staying on and trying to rebuild Leicester.
It was apt that Christian Fuchs, a member of the 5,000-1 title-winning squad of 2016, was mentioned. In many ways the Austrian could have been a good choice. He had just kept Newport County in League Two in his first season of management. As a player he captained Austria and was part of the most successful Leicester side in history.
Critics may have argued he lacks experience, but Nigel Pearson did not have much experience as a manager when he took over at Leicester the last time they were in League One in 2008, and went on to enjoy great success.
Christian Fuchs steered Newport County to safety in League Two last season (Harry Murphy/Getty Images)
How much will Martin cost?
Leicester’s record package for a manager was the £8million per year paid to Brendan Rodgers. They broke the bank back in December 2019 to keep the man they viewed as the best the club could ever have. Times have changed and Martin will have to accept Leicester are not the pay masters they once were — although he is highly likely to be the best paid manager in League One.
For Martin, though, this is an opportunity to resurrect his managerial career and repair his reputation at a club that might be much more aligned to his own vision.
In terms of transfer budget, it will be modest and the club will look to bring in as much as they can through sales to give to Martin to rebuild the squad, with assets like Abdul Fatawu, Jeremy Monga and Ben Nelson expected to move on for sizeable fees.
At least he will not have the spectre of PSR hanging over him like previous managers.
What does his backroom staff look like?
The support staff around Martin has yet to be confirmed, but Matt Gill has been his long-standing assistant, having worked with Martin at MK Dons, Swansea, Southampton and Rangers. He is expected to join him again.
Goalkeeping coach Dean Thornton is another with a long history with Martin, stretching back to their younger days as players. Rhys Owen, as first-team sports scientist, and Ben Parker, as first-team tactics and insights analyst, held similar positions at Swansea and Southampton, and could join him again.
What has been the fan reaction?
If this had been two years ago, when Martin was first linked to the position, the appointment would have been toxic from the outset. A large section of the fanbase were already aggrieved, angered particularly by then director of football Jon Rudkin. They have grown used to singing that they want him out for the last few seasons. He is now the chief football officer at Leicester.
Martin remains a divisive figure. Some supporters are not enamoured by the prospect of his possession-based football. Many expressed frustration at the slow build-up play under Maresca, even when they were winning game after game. Martin’s style is seen as even slower; possession for possession’s sake.
Russell Martin endured the wrath of fans at Rangers (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
When Steve Cooper was appointed in 2024, his association with rivals Nottingham Forest meant he had to earn credit with disgruntled fans. He experienced their discontent early in his tenure, during a League Cup tie at Walsall of the fourth tier.
Martin will be under no illusion he faces an even bigger challenge to win over the sceptical fans.
The bottom line, though, is a lot has changed since that Bournemouth game. Leicester have to shop in a different market for a manager. Martin’s experience at Rangers may mean he arrives now as slightly damaged goods, but that means he has a lot to prove — and so do Leicester’s players.
This has to work.