Russell Martin was in good spirits in his pre-Luton Town press conference

Russell Martin has never faced a team managed by Jack Wilshere, but that has not stopped the Leicester City boss from studying the Luton Town manager ahead of Saturday's meeting.

Martin has been in management for almost seven years and has taken charge of nearly 300 games. Wilshere, who was appointed head coach at Kenilworth Road last year, has managed Arsenal's Under-18s for more games than he has overseen Luton.

On Saturday, Martin and Wilshere will meet on the touchline, just four months after the former Arsenal midfielder was linked with the managerial vacancy at the King Power Stadium. Although Martin has never faced a Wilshere side, he has done his homework on the Luton boss.

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"[They're] a good team, good players, good coach, hard place to go and [they] run and fight a lot," the Foxes manager said when asked about tomorrow's opponents. "They can play real good football with the players they have in the team and are capable of being able to mix their game up.

"They pose a real threat in a lot of different areas. I think they're probably unlucky not to have more points than they do have. I've seen them twice this season and they were good. It's going to be, like I say every week and I really mean it, it's going to be a difficult game."

Towards the end of the broadcast section of the press conference, Martin was asked about Wilshere's playing career. The former Arsenal midfielder was widely regarded as a major talent, but a succession of injuries disrupted his career before he retired at the age of 30.

The pair faced each other five times during their playing careers, with Wilshere coming out on top on each occasion. In October 2013, Wilshere scored one of the Premier League's most memorable goals, exchanging a series of quick passes with Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla before finishing a superb team move. Martin was part of the Norwich defence that was carved open.

"An amazing football player. I played against him when he played for England as well, like a really talented, special player," he said with a grin when reminded of that goal. "[He was] really unlucky with injuries."

Although Martin has never faced a Wilshere side, he has seen the Luton manager in action on the touchline, watching him coach Arsenal's next generation. "I watched his 18s team at Southampton when he was coach at Arsenal and you could really see what he was doing, so he's obviously been like a student of the game in the way that he played football.

"He's done really well in his first managerial role, really well. So I have nothing but respect for him as a football player and coach, head coach and manager. It's not an easy job.

"That goal was incredible. It was OK for me not to applaud it at the time, but yes, he's doing a good job. A young English manager, hungry to learn, and with the career that he's had, such a humility to keep getting better."

Martin was also facing the media for the first time since BBC Sport published a report detailing how he is raising standards at Leicester City. “We introduced that on day one, so I haven't seen stuff that I don't like. I just think we've done it at every club we've been at,” he replied.

"When you're in the canteen at lunch, you speak to each other and actually look each other in the eye, and you don't have your phone. I don't think it's a big ask, and that runs right through the whole club, whether you're an academy coach, an academy player or a first-team member of staff.

“I think the only person who can get away with having their phone is probably the owner. He can do what he wants, but he's been really respectful of that when he's been here as well.

"It's just something that's really important to us, and the players can decide what's important to them in terms of if they want to fine each other and that. We're not interested in taking their money, so we're going to run in the same way that if I'm late for a meeting, or a member of staff is, we will as well.

"In terms of standards, we work at this beautiful, perfect place, that everyone talks about in a negative way outside, we have to be grateful for it. We have to be really humble and willing to work hard.

"It's going to be the basis and the foundation of everything we do. We have to be willing to run, to work, to look after each other, be responsible for each other, to make each other accountable every day. That's growing and I think the players are really bought into that."