Birmingham City told to forget Russell Martin 'risk' - 2 alternatives named | OneFootball

FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit has shared their views on whether they'd have Russell Martin as head coach for the Blues

Birmingham City have fallen short of their pre-season expectations after a record-breaking campaign in League One last time out, with head coach Chris Davies coming under increased scrutiny in recent weeks.

After amassing 111 points in the third tier during the 2024/25 season on their way to the league title, Birmingham couldn't have been in much higher spirits heading into the new campaign.

With their owners showing a clear ambition in the transfer market, allowing upwards of £60 million worth of spending over the last four windows alone, as well as plans set in place to build a new 62,000 capacity stadium, there was little to be upset about at St Andrews.

With that, anything other than a top six finish would be seen as a disappointing year, and as the season draws to a close, that target is looking increasingly unlikely.

Davies has a lot of credit in the bank thanks to his League One season, though his position in the dugout is far from safe, as one name in particular has been touted as a potential replacement for him should he be dismissed.

Birmingham City have been told to steer clear of Russell Martin

Scottish manager Russell Martin has been out of work since his dismissal from Rangers at the beginning of October, lasting just 17 games in charge in all competitions at Ibrox.

Martin had previous spells with MK Dons, Swansea City, and Southampton, the latter of whom he guided to the Premier League via the play-offs in 2024, where he gained a reputation for his possession-oriented style of play.

A return to management this summer could be on the horizon for Martin, with Birmingham having been touted as a potential destination.

Football League World's Birmingham fan pundit, Jason, has provided their thoughts on potentially replacing Davies with Martin, and whether it would be a good idea for the club to do so.

Jason said: "No. If you had a gun to my head right now, if I had to choose between Russell Martin or Chris Davies, I'd be taking Chris Davies.

"There's having a philosophy, and then there is literally dying on a hill on that philosophy, like Pep Guardiola will go direct at times if he really, really has to. Russell Martin has his style of play, and that's his style of play. It's great if it works, if you've got the players as he did for Southampton; it worked at times.

"You play that football, get us out of the Championship, and then we go into the Premier League. It's not going to work. It just isn't. You have to be defensively solid in the Premier League to survive, to begin with. And he was shocking at Southampton, shocking.

"Has he learned his lesson? Maybe. Do I want to take that risk with him? No. If I had to pick between them two right now, I'd be keeping Chris Davies.

"To be honest, I'd rather someone like Steve Cooper come in, who's not going to stick to a specific way of playing football. Make sure you're defensively solid and organised, but there's a way of winning matches.

"Yeah, I'd rather someone like him or even like Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who's going to come in and play attacking football. But yeah, I've sort of gone off point here.

"Russell Martin would be one thousand percent a no for me. I think a lot of Blues fans would probably back that up as well. Yeah, keep him away. I'm all for possession football, but not possession for the sake of having possession."

Russell Martin's style of play may hinder him in potential new jobs

Despite his promotion-winning campaign with Southampton, Martin's unwillingness to change his heavy possession-based approach may prove to be his downfall.

Whilst heavily effective in the correct system, Martin requires his players to be calm in possession, patient, and good on the ball all across the pitch, including in goal and defence, leaving little room for error.

Of course, not every side is tailored to his specifications, and he either needs a transfer window to bring in the players best suited to play his system, or join a side already capable of playing in a similar fashion.

Either way, his approach will no doubt immediately rule him out of some jobs, and whether Birmingham is the same case remains to be seen.

The Blues have averaged 54.5% possession this season, as per FotMob, the fifth highest in the division, with Birmingham being one of the clubs that would take the least amount of time adapting to his ways.

Though whether the owners would want someone so set in their ways is up for question, as is Davies' future, with Martin to St Andrew's nothing but mere speculation at this stage.