Russell Martin: Swansea boss talks Gary Neville, politics and his future ahead of Norwich reunion

Russell Martin decided against trying his hand in politics, opting instead for football management.

But there is another former player who Swansea City's head coach feels should stand for election.

"I would love Gary Neville to put himself forward," Martin says. "I think people would vote for him, I really do."

Martin is not about to follow former Manchester United captain Neville's lead by "hammering everyone", as he puts it, on social media.

But the ex-Scotland defender, 36, is happy to talk politics having done so throughout his playing career.

"We would have arguments after training for ages," he says.

"When there was a General Election coming up, I used to say 'are you going to vote?' and the lads would say 'nah', or 'I am going to vote this way because I'll pay less tax'.

"What used to upset me was that most of the lads were working class. If they didn't earn what they earned as footballers, their families would still need some help.

"It was like no, you need to look at the bigger picture, you can't just vote to save 5% on tax for you. You have got enough money already."

At the back-end of his playing days Martin joined the Green Party, having met their then leader, Caroline Lucas.

"I got a bit disillusioned with the two main parties - well one of them I was always disillusioned with - and I just really liked what she stood for as a person really," Martin explains.

"It was about empathy and kindness, trying to look longer-term than tomorrow.

"When you hear her speak in parliament, it's only ever for the benefit of people, to try to help us move forward. Unfortunately she doesn't get listened to as much as she probably should.

"How she is as a person, that's the most important thing.

"I look at so many people in that [political] world… there was one point where I thought I might go into it when I finished football. Then I realised I don't like how it's run.

"They all sit there in their suits shouting over at each other and not listening to each other.

"I am just not sure how you can get anything done like that."

Lucas is the Green Party's one MP, having held the Brighton Pavilion seat since 2010.

It was through the Russell Martin Foundation, a non-profit organisation Brighton-born Martin set up in his home city, that he met Lucas.

The foundation was initially created as a football academy with two members of staff. There are now 28 full-time and numerous part-time employees, with plenty going on beyond the football field.

"We now do alternative provision for people struggling in mainstream schools, we have the extra time project where they come to us for 16 weeks and we try to get them reintegrated back into education," Martin explains.

"We are giving a huge amount of kids a huge chance to improve their experience at school.

"Some of their back stories are devastating. It's important to me that we provide opportunities through sport, through football, through education, to as many kids as possible.

"Then we have the health and wellbeing side. We have started disabled football, over-60s walking football, we have had a homeless football initiative.

"We are really trying to promote women's football after the Euros and our girls' football is going from strength to strength."

Martin relies on others - including friends, his old schoolteacher and former football coach - to run the foundation while he focuses on Swansea.

He has other interests, including a cryotherapy clinic in Brighton and a stake in a vegan restaurant in Norwich, and is passionate about environmental issues.

"We use too much plastic, myself included, at the training ground. That's something we are looking at," Martin says.

"We now have electric charging points at every club facility, which is good - a lot of the lads have electric cars. The club are big on it.

"We try to do as much as we can as a family, although we are nowhere near as good as some people. I am not an eco-warrior, but it frustrates me when I see water bottles lying about half-drunk."

Martin was vegan for seven years of his playing career, in part because he suffers with ulcerative colitis.

"After doing a lot of research, I don't think it (meat) is very good for me," he says, "and I don't like the way it's put onto our supermarket shelves.

"I know it's a big industry and people need to survive in that industry, but it's personal choice."

While he does not eat meat, Martin has not followed a strict vegan diet since hanging up his boots when named MK Dons manager in 2019.

These days, he eats fish and eggs to replace the protein shakes he consumed as a player.

Martin says he is well looked after by Swansea's head chef, one of the fans on the club's staff who he has referenced before each of his south Wales derbies.

With three victories from three meetings with Cardiff City, Martin can presumably order whatever he likes in the training ground canteen.

Martin is approaching the halfway point in the three-year deal he signed after agreeing to succeed Steve Cooper at the Swansea.com Stadium.

With Swansea eighth in the Championship and showing signs of progress, discussions over a new deal have started - although Martin wants players' contracts sorted before his.

The fact that new deals with the likes of Ryan Manning and Joel Latibeaudiere have not yet materialised is a source of some frustration.

Nevertheless Martin is happy in Wales, and brushes aside talk of where management may take him.

"I will end up where I end up," he says.

"People ring me all the time and say you are linked with this job or that, what are you thinking? I don't care about that. It's not on my radar.

"I would never come out and say I am going to be here for 10 years - I don't know what's going to happen.

"But if I am still here in 10 years and still enjoying it as much as I am now, I would be happy with that - and I don't think that's a lack of ambition.

"I think the biggest ambition you can have is to love what you are doing every day, because that's not easy to attain. I am really fortunate to have that."

He might particularly enjoy a victory when Swansea return to action after the World Cup break this Saturday, for their opponents are Norwich City.

Martin played for the Canaries for nine years, captaining the club and helping them to three promotions, yet had his contract terminated in 2018 having been asked to train with the under-23s by Daniel Farke.

"My kids were all born in Norwich, I really enjoyed living there, but the day you leave, it's done. You realise that," Martin says.

"It really hurt at the time, but then you move on. The only thing it hurts is your own ego."

Victory this weekend would see Swansea go above Norwich in the table, and probably into the play-off places.

But as sweet as a win over former employers might be, there would be no corks popping in the manager's office because Martin rarely drinks.

"I have [drunk] maybe three or four times in my life - a couple of promotions and my stag do, because I said I would," he says.

Should Martin get Swansea back to the Premier League, he will consider adding to the list of special occasions.

"But it would have to be something really sweet because I hate alcohol," he says. "Loads of lemonade or lime, with something at the bottom."