After Southampton defeated Leeds United in Sunday’s Championship play-off final to clinch their return to the Premier League, Russell Martin expressed his gratitude for Southampton’s faith in him. After being relegated in 2022, they defeated Leeds 1-0 at Wembley thanks to a masterful goal from Adam Armstrong in the first half. This victory guaranteed their return to the top division in England. The victory somewhat validated Martin’s appointment, given his entrance at St. Mary’s in June of last year was met with minimal enthusiasm.Russell, in his debut season on the south coast of England, has brought new life to a club devastated by their Premier League basement finish. Twelve months beforehand
Securing promotion will ultimately put an end to those who had doubts about the suitability of the manager, who guided Swansea to a mid-table finish in the Championship in 2023. Martin, a former defender for Norwich and Scotland, was in charge of Milton Keynes Dons in the third division just three years ago. Now, he can look forward to testing his cunning against Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta, and co. The 38-year-old honored Jason Wilcox, the former director of football at Southampton and the man who signed him before he departed to join Manchester United last month.
“I just want to express my gratitude to the proprietors for initially providing me with this chance, Jason. I’m quite proud of what we’ve accomplished,” Martin remarked. “I feel like it wasn’t a sexy appointment for Southampton Football Club, me coming in, but they were brave enough to give me the opportunity and hopefully we have repaid them with a day they will remember forever.”It has undoubtedly given me one of the best days of my professional life, so yes, all I can say is that I’m incredibly grateful and appreciate the individuals I’ve worked with all year.”
Southampton had a wild road to Wembley, having suffered four straight losses in September before Martin led them to an unprecedented 25 games without a loss. Their promotion attempt was in danger of failing due to a dismal finish to the season, which included a 5-0 loss to champions Leicester City, but they bounced back to defeat West Bromwich Albion in the play-off semifinals. Martin was able to enjoy victory for the third time this season against Leeds manager Daniel Farke, who was in charge at Norwich when the defender’s contract was amicably terminated in 2018. Armstrong’s excellent finish in the Wembley sunshine made this possible.
“We scored a really nice goal and it is something the guys work on a lot in terms of the way it built up,” Martin stated. “I didn’t want us to defend as long as we did in the last 25 minutes, but with the tension in the game, I understand that because it’s a big occasion.” Leeds’ fourth final defeat condemned them to a second season outside the top division, while their defeat condemned them to more play-off pain. It was a cruel setback for Farke’s club, who lost their lead late in the season and saw Ipswich Town win the league and go automatically.
Leeds now has to deal with the harsh fact that they might have to sell a number of important players in order to make up for losing out on the £140 million ($177 million) bonus that comes with being promoted to the Premier League. Yes, it couldn’t be worse, as you can probably understand. It’s obvious that we’re going through a lot right now,” Farke remarked. “It stings a lot to lose this final, but I can’t truly claim we are the worst team in it. “While we are quite disappointed, I also want to congratulate Southampton right away. They were fairly successful and had excellent defense.”