Russell Martin is clearly a happy man as he addressed the press for the first time since his appointment was confirmed on Sunday and he made the switch from MK Dons.
After some strong speculation around his future, Martin finally put pen to paper on Sunday after agreeing in principle to the switch on Friday evening. A three year contract at the Liberty will give him the opportunity to see through the potential that he saw when making the decision and he has been working hard in his first week ahead of the season opener at Blackburn on Saturday.
Martin is relishing the chance to build on the work of Steve Cooper, who led the Swans to two successive play off campaigns and says that chance made his decision a little bit easier as he recognises the potential
“The club’s been in a great position. I’m coming into such a strong place,” he said.
“That’s appealing too, not coming into a club that is on its knees and finding life really difficult.
“It’s a strong culture and the way the people at the club want to help you is just outstanding and you can sense that everyone who works for the club is desperate for it to succeed.
“For me, the decision was about getting the opportunity to work on something as big as this.
“There’s a lot of work to be done, not just in the transfer market but on the training pitch.
“After speaking to Julian (Winter) and the guys I’ve been reassured about a lot of things and hopefully that’ll show quickly. It’s a good squad. It’s just a little bit thin at the moment.
“We’re going to give it everything we’ve got. We owe that to the supporters and the people who work at the club.”