Russell Martin's Reputation on the Line as Leicester Slide Continues

Russell Martin faces a genuine crisis at Leicester City after a draw and a defeat to open their League One campaign, with the club in turmoil on and off the pitch.

There is a 10-year anniversary banner still doing the rounds at King Power Stadium, a relic of the most extraordinary title win English football has ever seen. But for supporters making the trip to LE2 these days, that particular piece of cloth must feel less like a celebration and more like a rebuke. Leicester City are in League One. The 5,000-1 champions are now 33-1 to suffer a third consecutive relegation. How did it come to this?

Russell Martin was appointed in June on a three-year deal, tasked with arresting a downward spiral that has taken the Foxes from top-flight regulars to the third tier for the first time since 2009. He arrives with serious pedigree — he guided Southampton to the Premier League through the play-offs as recently as May 2024 — but the intervening months have been desperately unkind. Since that Wembley triumph, Martin has overseen just two league wins in charge of Saints and then Rangers, where he lasted 123 days before being sacked in October 2025. His only Premiership victory at Ibrox came via a stoppage-time winner against Livingston. It was a stint that did his standing no favours whatsoever.

Four competitive games into life at Leicester and the alarm bells are already ringing. A draw at Notts County to open the League One campaign was underwhelming. A 2-1 home defeat to Burton Albion was something closer to a scandal. The manner of that loss prompted a flurry of bets on the Foxes to drop into League Two — a sentence that would have seemed genuinely unthinkable five or six years ago.

A style that hasn't convinced

Martin is a committed disciple of possession football — patient, technical, playing out from the back at every opportunity. Leicester managed 73 per cent of the ball in the defeat to Burton, yet still lost. That statistic tells its own story. Lynn Wyeth of the Foxes Trust was blunt in her assessment: "He was not a popular choice with the fans. We're not particularly enamoured with the 'tippy tappy' passing football. That doesn't work if you've got players who can't do it, and you put yourselves under pressure at the back."

Phil Holloway, speaking on the When You're Smiling BBC Leicester podcast, echoed that unease: "I worry that it's a team that doesn't look as if it's got enough fight in it for a League One battle." He stopped short of calling for Martin's head, but acknowledged that many supporters already had.

There is some logic to giving a new manager time. The squad is still being reshaped — midfielder Oliver Skipp, a Premier League remnant on a substantial wage, was sent off against Burton, and several highly paid players from the top-flight era remain on the books. The summer has seen Abdul Fatawu depart to Ipswich and 17-year-old Jeremy Monga sold to Manchester City to generate funds. The most recent addition is 19-year-old Finnish centre-back Ilari Kangasniemi, a 6ft 6in ball-player who fits Martin's build-from-the-back model perfectly. Whether he can cope with the physicality of League One immediately is another matter entirely.

The bigger picture

Martin's tactical travails are only part of the story. Off the pitch, Leicester are up for sale. Thai owners King Power, who have overseen the club for 16 years, are actively seeking buyers, with an eight-page sales document already circulating. No official statement has emerged from the Srivaddhanaprabha family, but the uncertainty is palpable. The club posted losses of close to £100m in both 2021-22 and 2022-23, and those financial breaches resulted in a six-point deduction applied to the 2025-26 season — a punishment that looms over whatever fresh start Martin is trying to construct.

Saturday's trip to MK Dons is a curious date with Martin's own history. Stadium MK is where he first made his name as a manager, where his philosophy of patient, possession-based football was forged. He will need those early Dons teams to lend him some inspiration. If Leicester cannot find a way to win on the road this weekend, the noise around the King Power is going to grow considerably louder — and the manager who arrived with a reputation to rebuild will find that task becoming harder by the week.

Frequently asked

Why are Leicester City in League One?: Leicester were relegated from the Premier League in 2024 and then finished 23rd in the Championship last season, five points from safety, sending them down to League One for the first time since 2009.
Who is Russell Martin and why was he appointed at Leicester?: Russell Martin is a 40-year-old manager known for possession-based football. He famously guided Southampton to promotion via the play-offs in May 2024, which earned him the Leicester job, though he struggled badly at Rangers before joining the Foxes.
Are Leicester City being sold?: Thai owners King Power are seeking to sell the club after 16 years in charge. An eight-page sales booklet has been produced to attract buyers, but no official announcement has been made by the Srivaddhanaprabha family.