'I've been told' - Claim made on Russell Martin returning to Southampton FC | OneFootball

Russell Martin has been linked with a potential return to St Mary's

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Southampton ownership group, Sport Republic, are now facing another critical decision at St Mary's following the departure of Will Still on Sunday night.

The 32-year-old entered management in English football for the first time this summer with his stock still incredibly high after well-documented exploits on the continent in Belgium and France.

However, his tenure at St Mary's had transpired worse than any supporter could have envisaged, failing to stop the rot which had firmly set in throughout Saints' dismal solitary campaign back in the Premier League, during which only 12 points were accumulated.

The South Coast side find themselves on the exact same tally after 13 Championship games and are, once again, in deep trouble. A a 2-0 defeat against Preston North End on Saturday extended a poor recent record to just one win in 12 league encounters for Still, leaving the writing very much on the wall when it came to his immediate future.

Attention has now turned to his replacement, with the likes of Frank Lampard and Mark Robins of Coventry City and Stoke City, respectively, mentioned alongside a potential reunion with Russell Martin, who was recently dismissed at Rangers after just 123 days in the Ibrox hotseat.

Despite heavy immediate links, Football League World's Southampton fan pundit, Martin Sanders, outlined why such developments would be extremely surprising.

Even prior to confirmation of Still's departure, it was reported by Alan Nixon that Martin was on 'standby' at both Southampton and another of his former clubs, Norwich City, with Liam Manning also under intense pressure at Carrow Road.

It has since been claimed by Alex Crook of talkSPORT that senior players within the Saints dressing room would be open to a return for the 39-year-old, just 11 months after he was dismissed following a run of one win in 16 Premier League games.

Indeed, Martin was the man responsible for leading Southampton back to the top-flight at the first time of asking after his side defeated Leeds United in the Championship play-off final in May 2024 at the conclusion of his first and only full season at the club.

As such, Sanders outlined why there would be plenty of division amongst all associated with this club regarding a potential reunion.

"I did a video on this on my YouTube channel, because I thought it would be interesting to see what the fanbase are saying," he told FLW.

"I've been told about Russell Martin. I think he's open to a return, from what people who I talk to tell me.

"The senior players inside the club want him back," our fan pundit added. "Is he the right appointment right now? For the here and now with Championship experience, I think he would bring it together in the dressing room.

"He'd split the fanbase," Sanders stated. "The fanbase is very broken as it is. The majority would be dead against it anyway.

"I can understand why he's linked, because he did a good job before. He's been their (the owners') best manager.

"But, there's a lot of talk that people within the hierarchy don't like him. I think it would be a surprise if it did actually happen."

Russell Martin reunion would be a bold move by Sport Republic

It's fair to say that, in recent weeks and months, Sport Republic and owner, Dragan Solak, have taken the vast majority of blame from supporters when it comes to assessing the root cause of Saints' drastic plight.

This was even the case surrounding Still's departure, and it would only increase the pressure on their backs should Martin be reappointed, especially with the division circulating within the Southampton fanbase when viewing his first stint as manager.

A promotion to the Premier League cannot be disputed, but there are some who still argue that the 2023/24 squad at St Mary's was more than capable of achieving automatic promotion, before starting last season in dire fashion.

Of course, the set of circumstances Saints currently find themselves in couldn't be more contrasting, whilst Martin is eager to prove said doubters wrong, particularly after his latest underwhelming stint at Ibrox which ended just five months into a three-year contract.