Highlights

• Russell Martin's time at Norwich City marked a period of success, with promotions and even Premier League survival.
• The defender's leadership skills were evident as he skippered Norwich to promotions and a Premier League return.
• Despite struggling for minutes in his final season at Norwich, Martin's legacy as a modern-day legend remains intact.

Russell Martin may currently be leading Southampton in their quest for Premier League promotion, but it's at another Championship club that he's considered a modern-day legend.

The Scottish international joined then League One side Norwich City on loan during the 2009/10 season from Peterborough United, and it was just a matter of months before he became a permanent member of the Canaries squad.

The Brighton-born defender would go on to enjoy an eight-and-half-year stay in Norfolk, and certainly experienced plenty of highs and lows during his time at Carrow Road.

Martin also skippered the Canaries during his latter years at the club, and will certainly be remembered at Carrow Road as a modern-day legend.

Russell Martin became a legend at Norwich City

It's fair to say that when he joined Norwich, the club were at something of a low ebb. The Canaries had been relegated from the Championship at the end of the 2008/09 season, and were battling away in League One.

Just under 80 miles to the west, Peterborough United were a Championship side, and they were captained by Martin. However, after Mark Cooper replaced Darren Ferguson at the Posh in November 2009, Martin was allowed to leave the club on loan, and he joined Norwich City.

Signing a Championship skipper as a League One club was quite the coup, and so it proved for Norwich. After just a couple of months, Martin made his move permanent, and he helped the club win promotion to the Championship at the first attempt.

Things got even better during the 2010/11 season, and the Canaries incredibly made it back-to-back promotions, reaching the Premier League, and Martin was the runner-up of the club's Player of the Year award, finishing behind Grant Holt.

The defender thrived in the Premier League, and he was part of a Norwich side that surprised many people to stay up comfortably during their first two seasons in the top-flight, and he was rewarded with the captain's armband ahead of the 2013/14 season.

The Canaries were relegated at the end of the 13/14 campaign, but Martin led them to an immediate Premier League return, skippering the side as they beat Middlesbrough in the play-off final.

Martin was yet again a mainstay in the Norwich side when fit during the 2015/16 season, but he was unable to keep them in the top-flight, and they were relegated after just one season.

The Scotland international continued to play regularly in the Championship in the 2016/17 season, and was rewarded with a new deal that summer. However, the 2017/18 season saw him struggle for minutes, and after playing just seven times during that campaign, he was loaned to Scottish club Rangers in January 2018.

After returning from Rangers that summer, Martin had his contract terminated by mutual consent after making 309 appearances for the Canaries.

Whilst it was a sad end to his Norwich career, he's certainly a modern-day legend and played a key role in some of their most memorable days in recent history.

Russell Martin's career after leaving Norwich City

Martin signed for Walsall as a player-coach in October 2018, but he left the club in January 2019, citing family reasons, before joining MK Dons.

He finished his playing days in Milton Keynes, before taking over as the club's manager, and he's gone on to enjoy a promising managerial career from there.

Martin left MK Dons in the summer of 2021, joining Swansea City, and after two seasons in South Wales he was appointed Southampton boss.

The ex-Norwich man has become known for his possession style of play, and has earned plaudits for his brave way of playing.

You feel as if it's a matter of if not when Martin becomes a Premier League manager, and he could well be in charge of a Premier League side come August 2024 if he's able to lead the Saints to promotion.