Amid all the chaos of preparing for the biggest game of your coaching career, there are still some calms amidst the Russell Martin storm.
It’s very, very rare for a head coach who’s used to the rigors of the EFL to spend more than a week preparing for a game with his entire team.
“It would be beautiful if we had this every week!” he said sky sports With a smile.
“For me, the moment I step on the grass is the best part of the job. Getting there in person with this team and this club is a huge motivator.
“That’s definitely one of the benefits of being in the Premier League – having time to train and work and try some pretty crazy stuff on the training pitch.
“Our dream is to put this team on the biggest stage every week and show what they can do and how brave they are. Now we’re just one game away from achieving that.”
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Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-final second leg highlights from Southampton vs West Brom
Of course, that game was the biggest of them all. The Championship play-off final will be held at Wembley, with Martin’s Southampton and Leeds United going head-to-head in next season’s Premier League.
At just 38 years old, Martin knows that while most things can remain the same, preparations will just need to adjust.
“No other game this season will have any different message and we will train the same way,” he said.
“But we can’t pretend it’s a normal game because it’s not. It’s an important occasion and that has to be taken into account because we have to prepare the players for it.”
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In some ways it has been a strange season for Martin and Southampton. It’s not always easy to pick a club from across the field, and in some seasons a total of 87 points would earn you automatic promotion. For them, finishing fourth with such a result is unprecedented.
Martin remains proud of what they accomplished.
“I think most people would consider Southampton a failure to finish fourth in the league,” he said.
“But we were worse than the two teams that went down with us last season, we had three different coaches and we had to sell players.
“I’m happy with the squad we have but of course relegation will cause a certain amount of damage and hurt. I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved this season.”
Martin’s pride also stems from his belief that he is at the club to develop talent and players. It is this mentality that has seen him remain popular as a player and coach with his old clubs, particularly at his most recent club, Swansea, where he remains popular despite failing to reach the play-offs in his two seasons there. People love it.
“The people I care about are the people who know us and understand us,” he said. “The fact that we have so many people coming to Wembley from Swansea means a lot to me. It shows that we have a level of connection there, beyond results and football. I hope it’s the same here. “
“I have a lot of love and gratitude for the players and staff here, so if you can make that connection and win, that has to be the ultimate, really.
“I do what’s right for me, which is to care and give to people as much as I can. That’s always been my intention. All I want to do is do whatever I can to help develop players as people and football players.”
The topic naturally turned to the finals. Opposite the dugout was Daniel Farke, whose spell as Norwich captain effectively ended Martin’s time at Norwich.
However, it’s not in Martin’s nature to treat this as any kind of drama or subplot. He doesn’t think it will have much of an impact on the game at Wembley.
“I’ve also played against Paul Lambert and Alex Neal,” he said. “It’s always good to catch up with my old managers.
“I didn’t play for Daniel that much so it’s not quite the same as those guys, but I respect what he’s done at Norwich and now Leeds. The job he’s done at this level is outstanding.
“You can kind of get a sense of what their work and their processes are, but I’m sure their work and processes have grown and evolved a lot since I’ve been with him because everybody does that over time. .
“Ultimately, while it’s not about us, it’s about the team and who can control the mood and the situation and who has the best game plan and executes it.”
His record is two wins against Leeds United in the regular season this season. However, he also dismissed the significance of this, citing the fact that the other two English League play-off finals were won by teams they had not beaten before – Oxford and Crawley.
“The other two games showed it didn’t matter because occasion prevailed,” Martin said. “The players know they can do it but Leeds also want to prove they can.
“But no matter what happens, we will do it together. We will try to be the team we want to be and leave no stone unturned. If we do it, there will be no regrets.”
Martin was promoted as captain and guided Norwich to Wembley in 2015.
“The responsibility of leading this club is huge anyway, so to do it at Wembley is huge,” he said. “I feel so grateful right now, I love what I do and the people I do it with. It’s a huge honor, but I hope to make it truly memorable by winning.
“I get emotional thinking about it now because it would be incredible, the biggest achievement of my life besides becoming a father and one of the best days of my life.
“The memories and moments we can create mean everything. Everything after that, like becoming a Premier League manager, will be secondary. It’s about how you can make people feel.”
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