Martin 'felt like a traitor' leaving MK Dons days before the new season

Former MK Dons boss Russell Martin admitted he felt horrible for leaving the club just a few days before the start of the new season back in 2021.

After guiding the team for 18 months, Martin upped sticks for Swansea City less than a week before the new season got underway, culminating in a 5-0 defeat to Bournemouth in the League Cup, and departing Stadium MK under a cloud.

Keeping the side up after Paul Tisdale’s departure in November 2019, Martin then led the team to an 18th place finish, bringing in his version of what has developed into the ‘MK Way’ of playing.

Putting together the blueprints of the team Liam Manning went on to take to third place that season, Martin told Gary Linekar on “The Rest is Football” podcast his gut feeling was to remain at MK1, and that he felt like a traitor for leaving at such short notice.

“Leaving was horrible. I felt like a traitor, it wasn’t planned. I was sat with the staff unsure whether or not to do it, but they all felt we deserved the opportunity.

“I wouldn’t have left MK for anyone else but Swansea, and I felt their style of play was aligned with mine. When I spoke to them, it all made sense.

“It was four days before the start of the season. We assembled what I thought was an amazing team for that season. Liam Manning did a brilliant job with it. We’d built for a year-and-a-half, added some real quality with the likes of Scott Twine, Harry Darling, Matt O’Riley, and Troy Parrott - bless him, he signed the day before I left.

“I got a call from Swansea, they had taken their time with it but identified my style of play and wanted it back.

“Pete was really angry at the start, but we’ve had chats since, and he understands. It was horrible. He tried everything to keep us.”

Offered the job in the kit room

Martin was likely to hang up his boots to pursue a coaching career come the January window in 2020, but had his timeline brought forwards following the sacking of Tisdale.

With the team dropping into the League One drop zone, Winkelman cut Tisdale loose and opted to appoint the former Norwich City defender instead, not in the boardroom, but in the kit room at Stadium MK.

Not the formal setting he would have expected for his first managerial job offer, Martin said he was hugely grateful to the former Dons owner for offering him that first chance in the dugout.

He continued: “I was probably going to leave and retire in January and go into coaching.

“After a game, the physio grabbed me and told me the chairman wanted a word. Pete can be very instinctive, and he told me he had sacked everyone, and wanted me to do it. I assumed that would be for a week or two, but he told me everyone at the club wanted me to do it. He is a brave man. He did well with his instincts previously - Roberto di Matteo and Karl Robinson - he gives people a chance.

“He told me to keep us up, and even if we don’t, they’d stick with me, I just had to build a style of play and bring some young players through. He said he wanted his team back.

“He was great, I’m really grateful to him.”