Former Southampton director of football Jason Wilcox rated Martin highly and saw him as potential Old Trafford boss of the future

Russell Martin was highly regarded by Manchester United before his Rangers disaster and was seen as a long term option for the Old Trafford club.

With Erik Ten Hag under severe pressure ahead of the 2024 FA Cup Final against rivals Manchester City, it was director of football Jason Wilcox's job to succession plan for the Dutchman's eventual departure.

A 2-1 win over Pep Guardiola's side at Wembley bought Ten hag a stay of execution, although he was ultimately emptied five months later and replaced by former United striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy on a temporary basis before Ruben Amorim was appointed.

But facing the possibility of having to sack Ten hag following that FA Cup clash, Wilcox, along with other senior club officials, put forward a list of potential replacements replacement.

Martin was one of those and highly rated by Wilcox, having worked under him at Southampton, who Martin guided to English Premier League promotion the day after United won the FA Cup that weekend, at the same stadium.

The Athletic reports that while Wilcox accepted that Martin was not a serious candidate to replace Ten Hag, he saw him as having the potential to take over at Old Trafford further down the line.

It's safe to say that won't be happening any time soon. Martin was sacked by Saints in December 2024 with just one victory in 16 games and the St Mary's club rooted to the bottom of the table.

He then re-emerged at Rangers in June 2025 but his Ibrox tenure could hardly have gone any worse. He was gone after four months, a 1-1 draw at Falkirk after which martin needed a police escort from the car park proving the final straw.

He has since endured a tough start at Leicester City after their relegation from the Championship. Martin has been tasked with taking the league favourites back to the second tier, but them found themselves in the relegation zone with only three wins from his first eight matches.

The ship has been steadied somewhat after that rocky start to the season, but tenth in the table will need to be improved upon if Martin is to ride out the pressure and last the season.

Even if he doesn't, it's safe to say Wilcox has had a major rethink and he won't be in the running should Michael Carrick find himself heading for the exit door.

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