Leicester City will be hopeful Russell Martin can lead the team back to the Championship on his first attempt next season.

Following the Foxes’ relegation to League One, the 40-year-old has been named the new head coach for the upcoming season.

Martin previously guided Southampton to Premier League promotion in 2024, but he was fired after only a few months in charge due to the Saints’ poor form and likelihood of relegation.

Regardless, the Hampshire side finished 20th and was relegated, while Martin moved on to work for Rangers.

While his time at Ibrox was brief, Martin will be eager to improve his reputation with Leicester.

The League One club has signed Conor Chaplin and Alex McCarthy as free agents ahead of the new season, which begins in just a few weeks.

Russell Martin makes Southampton claim.

Martin has spoken out about the end of his tenure at Southampton, claiming that the club failed to uphold their half of the deal by failing to stick to their plan of bringing in younger players with relegation to the Championship in mind.

He believes Jason Wilcox’s departure was a significant blow because he was not replaced throughout his time at St. Mary’s, and he also mentions the prominent players that left the team.

“To be honest, Southampton frustrated me because I stuck to my side of the bargain,” Martin told Leicestershire Live.

We got them promoted after the first year, but we lost a really significant person, 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 roster and realised we were weaker than we were in the Championship.

“We lost several key players, including Che Adams, Stuart Armstrong, and David Brooks, who was on loan.

“We made the choice then and there to buy some young players who could grow and, if we were relegated, would be extremely beneficial the next season.

“So it was comparable to Ipswich in terms of sticking to it and maintaining continuity.

“In all the probabilities and data, the club was going to get relegated, but the club would have a right go.”

Martin was appointed Southampton manager in 2023, and he led the team to the play-off final in his first season, defeating Leeds United to earn promotion.

However, a tough first half of the season in the top flight forced his resignation, and Ivan Juric was brought in as his replacement.

Southampton were relegated anyway, and Juric was fired at the end of the season when the team finished at the bottom of the table.

Leicester will now hope that Martin can repeat his achievement next season, as they aim to return to the Championship.

The Foxes were relegated twice in a row due to financial concerns, prompting a six-point deduction penalty for violating the profit and sustainability criteria (PSR).

Those six points were critical in determining their league place, since they finished five points short of safety last season.

Martin’s side will kick off the new season on August 15 against Notts County.

Southampton’s decision to replace head coach when they were already relegated made it clear that keeping with Russell Martin for a promotion attempt in the following season made sense.

But the departure of Wilcox, who transferred to Manchester United, left him without one of his biggest supporters at St Mary’s.

This departure was essential to the conclusion of his stint with Hampshire, and he will now strive for more stability at Leicester.

However, the club is apparently for sale, and if a new owner takes over, he may find himself in a similar predicament in the near future.