Russell Martin was confronted by a Leicester City fan outside the stadium after their 2-1 defeat to Stevenage in the EFL Trophy, and responded with an X-rated putdown when the supporter questioned his style of play.
The former Rangers boss is under pressure after a difficult start to the season. The latest setback came on Tuesday night, with Leicester losing 2-1 away to Stevenage. Boos were heard from the away end, and one supporter waited outside the stadium for an hour after the match to speak to Martin directly.
Calm exchange outside stadium
The exchange was not heated, with both men remaining calm. Martin was even applauded by some Leicester fans on social media for answering the questions honestly, which focused largely on his tactical approach.
The confrontation turned sharp when the fan brought up Enzo Maresca, whose football was often criticised by the Foxes fanbase despite winning promotion to the Premier League in 2023.
The full exchange
The conversation, shared on X by user @FilbertSt1884, unfolded as follows:
Fan: "Russell, I've come from Exeter to watch this, I go everywhere to watch this club. I want you to succeed, but don't play the football the owners want you to play, play the football that we want you to play. We're not giving you personal abuse..."
Martin: "Well, you are."
Fan: "But we gave (Enzo) Maresca it."
Martin: "We've had 135 shots in five games. That's attacking football."
Fan: "But it's not."
Martin: "But it is, 135 shots in five games is attacking."
Fan: "It's too predictable. It takes too long to get to those chances."
Martin: "I disagree. We're going to disagree on this."
Fan: "You're going to be another manager who goes, then we go round in circles."
Martin: "That's fine, I live and die by the sword. You got promoted with Enzo by the way, you've been s*** since then."
Fan: "We didn't like that football..."
Martin: "You got promoted with 96 points. What do you want? Because you had Gary Rowett, you had Marti Cifuentes, Ruud van Nistelrooy. We've had more shots in five games than you've had in 10/15 last season, I don't know what you want. We'll win and when we win, we'll be fine and you'll enjoy it. I appreciate the support."
