Jason Wilcox earmarked Russell Martin as a possible future Manchester United boss several years ago when he was at Southampton - only to see him endure periods of struggle since

Manchester United chief Jason Wilcox gave a ringing endorsement of Russell Martin when the club were on the lookout for a new manager in 2024.

Wilcox, who moved to Old Trafford off the back of his work at Southampton, was involved in the brains trust that came together and considered who to appoint if Erik ten Hag was axed after the FA Cup final - which he would go on to win, thus saving his job.

Before that he had presided over a poor Premier League season and United bosses were drawing up a list of potential replacements. Wilcox banged the drum for Martin, whom he had appointed at Southampton before he led them to the Premier League via the play-offs.

The Athletic reports that Wilcox accepted that Martin, at that stage of his career, would not be suitable for the United job. Nevertheless he earmarked him as a manager to keep tabs on.

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Martin was ultimately sacked by the Saints 16 games into the 2024/25 season with the club bottom of the Premier League having lost 13 of their 16 games following promotion.

Wilcox had put huge faith in Martin when he was at St Mary's. Initially Southampton struggled to click but then went on a club-record 25-match unbeaten run. The United director of football has always been a fan of possession-based managers who stick by their principles and was happy to appoint Martin despite him never finishing higher than 10th in a table before landing the Saints job.

Since leaving Southampton Martin lasted just 17 games at Rangers before being sacked. He's since been appointed at Leicester, now in League One, but has the Foxes sitting in tenth.

Ten Hag's victory at Wembley, where United shocked Manchester City to win their second domestic cup in as many seasons, saw the Dutchman retain his role. He was even handed a new contract but then lasted just nine games of the following season before he was shown the door.

He was the first manager axed by the Ineos hierarchy, who have since hired and fired Ruben Amorim. They then appointed Michael Carrick, who is a man under pressure and facing the chop as the club's bosses faced continued scrutiny over their decision making.

Wilcox himself was called out by Lisandro Martinez in the aftermath of the defeat to Atletico Madrid recently. The defender said: "I expect more from our technical director. I have to be honest. And also, as a player, we have to do more. It's also important to build a strong squad to be ready for this kind of night."