NEW Rangers manager Russell Martin has admitted he’s a “weirdo” in the footie world.
As a vegan Buddhist and fully paid up member of the Green Party, it’s fair to say that the former Scotland international isn’t your typical grunting gaffer.
Willie VassRussell Martin has been presented as the new Rangers manager[/caption]
Instagram / @pinderpixMartin and Lucy Pinder went public with their relationship last year[/caption]
PA:Press AssociationLucy earned legions of fans during her time as a glamour model[/caption]
The 39-year-old also dates former lads mag pin-up Lucy Pinder, 41, swims in the sea and uses a cryotherapy chamber near his home.
But despite being labelled the sport’s most ‘woke’ boss, the retired defender actually endured a brutal upbringing.
The second youngest of four brothers, Martin grew up in the Hollingbury area of Brighton and watched as his late Scots dad Dean was violent towards mum Kerry and had stints in prison.
His family home was lost to his gambling debts — and he moved them next door to a bookies.
In a recent podcast interview with footy legend Gary Lineker, Martin said: “There was too much violence and it became a bit normal. From my dad to my mum. I witnessed a lot of it. A lot of my childhood was spent trying to placate the adults in my life.
“The problem with my dad was he had the capability to be amazing and really likeable but the gap between him at his best and worst was too big.
“And he was a big gambler so the day depended on how he did at the bookies and he worked nights on the taxis so you couldn’t make a sound in the morning so it was eggshells a lot of the time and I spent a lot of time kicking the ball against the bookies’ wall.
“My dad was great in some ways but I’d never do with my kids what he did with me.”
Martin was forced to leave his troubled dad behind and look after his mum when they moved out to escape the violence at home. Despite the early trauma, he excelled at school where he was made head boy.
And even after a string of top clubs rejected the budding footballer, he joined non-league side Lewes and cleaned windows and pub toilets in the mornings with his uncle and did shifts at a Spar supermarket across the road in the evenings to make some spare cash.
He got his break under Arsenal legend Tony Adams, 58, at Wycombe before moving on to Peterborough and Norwich — whose manager at the time, Celtic hero Paul Lambert, 55, has been a huge influence on his career.
During this time the Scots stopper married bodybuilder Jasmine Martin and the pair had three children before splitting in 2023.
Martin, who also enjoyed brief stints with Walsall, MK Dons and even Rangers in 2018, gave up meat and turned vegan for health reasons after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.
He was part-owner of a vegan restaurant and later practiced meditation and breath work as he embraced Buddhism after finding religion through a book called ‘The Buddha, Geoff and Me’ by Edward Canfor-Dumas.
Meanwhile, he revealed he’d joined the Green Party in 2018 after growing disillusioned with politics.
But it probably wasn’t a surprise to his then Norwich teammates – as Martin often implored them to turn the taps off and think about climate change.
He also drives electric cars, is obsessive about recycling and started his own foundation which has grown from a football academy to a charity that helps kids struggling in mainstream school.
The philanthropist once said: “I’m probably deemed a bit of a weirdo in terms of football. But, to be honest, I’m past the point of worrying what others think.
“It’s not like: ‘Is it going to harm my employment opportunities because of where I vote and what I stand for?’ If it did, I wouldn’t want to work for those people anyway.”
Martin was preparing for his coaching career during his playing days — studying for his coaching badges at age 22, and going for his Uefa Pro Licence at the Scottish FA in 2019.
He enjoyed successful spells in charge of MK Dons and Swansea City before his honeymoon period at Southampton — they were promoted to the English Premier League — came crashing down when they were relegated and he was sacked.
The heartbreaking end to his top flight stint wasn’t a surprise after a 5-0 loss – but it could have been handled better. Martin said: “I went in thinking that time was done. I needed to go to the toilet and compose myself before doing the team talk. So I went in and said to the lads at half-time, 0-5 down: ‘I’m getting sacked tonight.’
“It was like an out of body experience watching the second half, I felt so detached from it because I knew what was coming.
“After the game, I spoke to the guys again and said: ‘Thanks for everything, I’m not sure what’s gonna happen now’.
“I went into the press conference and asked the head of media ‘what’s happening?’
He says, ‘We’ve done the statement’ so it was a really quick press conference. He told me to go upstairs. I wanted to wait until the morning but we did it [the sacking] with the owners straight after the game.”
But he hasn’t allowed his dismissal last year to bring him down as he’s found love with Southampton-daft glamour model Lucy.
They were seen out together when the football coach was given an honorary degree by Brighton University and later turned heads at a Sky Sports social function.
Pin-up Lucy, shot to fame as a glamour model in the early 2000s after she was spotted on Bournemouth beach by a photographer.
She went on to become a regular in lads’ mags Nuts, FHM and Loaded and has been in several movies — debuting in 2012 in Strippers vs Werewolves — and appeared on Celebrity Big Brother.
The model knows a thing or two about celebrity romances, having reportedly dated Captain America star Chris Evans, 43, in the past.
But seeing her fella succeed at Ibrox could mean she’s found her second superhero.
PA:Press AssociationLucy and Martin were spotted at an event last year[/caption]
GettyMartin led Southampton to promotion[/caption]
GettyHe played 29 times for Scotland[/caption]
GettyMartin’s philosophy earned the respect of the Southampton players[/caption]
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