Russell Martin causes a stir online after Leicester City fan footage | OneFootball

Russell Martin made an effort to speak to Leicester fans in the stands at their game at Bristol Rovers yesterday

Leicester City ramped up their pre-season preparations with a two-hour match-up against Bristol Rovers on Tuesday night.

The matchup at the Memorial Ground marked the first unofficial away day of the new campaign for the Foxes, and the fans were able to see numerous first-team and academy players in action in four 30-minute periods.

Leicester ended up running out 2-1 victors thanks to a couple of goals from Kristen Otchere and Nathaniel Opoku, maintaining their 100% record in pre-season after a 3-0 win against Northampton Town at their training complex last Saturday.

It's been so far, so good for new boss Russell Martin in the Foxes dugout, an appointment that definitely divided opinion at the time not just across the Leicester fanbase, but across the EFL, given his previous stints at the likes of Southampton and Rangers, the latter especially, which saw him sacked after 17 games last October.

So far, though, there's been little to complain about, and the 40-year-old is putting in the work to get a Leicester fanbase who have been drained over the last couple of relegation campaigns back onside ahead of just the second third-tier campaign in their history.

Russell Martin filmed speaking to Leicester City fans after pre-season win at Bristol Rovers

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It's a 254-mile round trip from the King Power Stadium to the Memorial Stadium, where Leicester played Bristol Rovers on Tuesday night.

That's a real commitment in midweek for a pre-season outing filled with experimental tactics and young players looking to impress Russell Martin and his coaching staff ahead of their League One return.

So, Leicester fans were left happy, not just due to the performance and the result, but also because of their manager's actions after the game, where he came over to the away end to chat to fans and show his appreciation towards them.

Foxes fans have felt distanced from the club over the past couple of seasons as they suffered consecutive relegations amidst financial difficulties and points deductions with a team on the field that was difficult to support.

So, to see Martin trying to engage immediately with the travelling fans is a nice touch, and a good way to try and build some positivity ahead of the new season.

Fans react to Russell Martin's actions following Leicester City's recent friendly

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Leicester fans in the away end at Bristol Rovers were appreciative of Russell Martin coming across to speak with them after the game.

The video online of the 40-year-old with the fans had the caption, "Fair play to Martin, imagine Ruud [van Nistelrooy] doing this," indicating that recent managers haven't had the same appreciation towards travelling fans.

In response to a Southampton fan stating that he "loved" Martin doing this when he was at St Mary's, the Leicester supporter responded, "Yeah, he was nice to everyone. I think just to make the effort to the away supporters is something we have been missing for years. Come over and talk to the supporters and fans will 100% back you a lot more."

However, as is the case with almost everything that Martin does now, Rangers fans were quick to remind the Leicester fanbase that things can quickly go wrong with the 40-year-old in charge.

"You think he’ll do this after your 5th consecutive defeat on the road? Behaviour like this should make you even more wary of the absolute fraud he is," one user said.

Another added, "Haha, oh sweet summer child. See how you feel 8 games into the season when he’s throwing the whole squad under the bus and blaming the fans for having unrealistic expectations of winning games."

Ultimately, it doesn't seem that Rangers fans will ever forgive Russell Martin for his stint in the Ibrox dugout. Right now, the Leicester boss has a lot of doubters north of the border to prove wrong.

But, for the time being, he's doing the right things in the infancy of his Foxes tenure. Only time will tell whether that good feeling lasts at the King Power Stadium as the season progresses.