Russell Martin has told a Leicester City fan that the team were ‘s***’ before he arrived in a bizarre showdown – after losing a lower-league cup match to Stevenage.
The Foxes boss was confronted by a supporter who filmed the tete-a-tete outside the ground following the 2-1 defeat away from home against the relative minnows.
And Martin, who has won just four of 11 games since taking over in June, insisted he will not budge on his passing play style and declared: ‘I live and die by the sword.’
‘We’ve had 135 shots in five games,’ said Martin. ‘That’s attacking football.
‘We’re going to disagree. It’s fine [if I’m sacked]. I live and die by the sword.
‘You got promoted under Enzo [Maresca] and you’ve been s*** since then. You won 96 points.
Russell Martin told a Leicester City fan that the club had been ‘s***’ before he arrived to try and justify his play style
They lost 2-1 to Stevenage and Martin insisted he will ‘I live and die by the sword’
‘What do you want? You’ve had Gary [Rowett], Marti Cifuentes, Ruud van Nistelrooy.
‘We’ve had more shots in five games than you had in 10 or 15 last season. I don’t know what you want. We’ll win, and when we win, it’ll be fine and you’ll enjoy it. I appreciate your support.’
Martin then had to cut off the encounter. It is not clear if he was aware he was being filmed, with the fan pointing the camera at his midriff.
Leicester sit 14th in League One after seven games, having only won two. The nadir of Martin’s reign so far came at home to Oxford early last month, they were trounced 4-0 at home.
Martin has expressed how he feels the criticism he has been subjected to has ‘become really personal’ and says ‘it is really difficult for the people around me’.
The fan filming him had travelled to Stevenage from Exeter and said: ‘I want you to succeed, but don’t play the football the owners want you to play. Play the football we want you to play.
‘We’re not giving you personal abuse.’
‘Well, you are,’ interjected Martin with a laugh.
The fan continued: ‘It’s predictable. It takes so long to get to those chances. You’re going to be another manager that goes and then we’ll go round in circles again.
‘We didn’t like that football [under Maresca]. We just want the ball to go quicker every now and then.’
Leicester had 21 shots and 72 per cent of the ball against Stevenage, but were 2-0 down by the hour mark and left chasing the game.
‘We’re so dominant, so many chances, limited them to very few, but we concede a set play and a goal we shouldn’t, we let him inside and he finishes it,’ Martin lamented after defeat in the Jersey Mike’s Trophy.
‘We create so many chances, we have to be more clinical and defend set plays how they did. They defend their set pieces with their lives and that’s the difference.’
