Former England boss Sam Allardyce has claimed Russell Martin is too stubborn to accept advice, predicting the Leicester City manager's rigid approach will cost him his job, just as it did at Rangers and Southampton.
Martin was sacked by Rangers after just 17 games in charge, with only one Scottish Premiership victory, before returning to management with the Foxes. Leicester, champions of the Premier League in 2016, have struggled in England's third tier under Martin, prompting calls from fans for his dismissal.
Allardyce's blunt assessment
Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast with Boyle Sports and Footy Accumulators, Allardyce said he would not offer Martin any advice in his current role because he would not listen. "I wouldn't give any advice to Russell Martin at Leicester, because I know he wouldn't take it. It cost him his job at Southampton, it cost him his job at Rangers, and it's going to cost him at job at Leicester," he said.
Allardyce added: "His beliefs are far away and beyond the capabilities of the players he's using. The players probably don't like it either."
Style over results
The veteran manager criticised Martin's failure to adapt when he entered the Premier League with Southampton, saying there was no adjustment to try to get results based on the purity of his beliefs in football. "You live and die by your beliefs – Martin shouldn't listen to me just because I say something, but when you keep losing your job because of your style of play, then what do you do? You need to stay in the game," Allardyce said.
He pointed to Daniel Farke at Leeds United as an example of adaptation, noting that Leeds started going direct through Dominic Calvert-Lewin and it saved his job. "They've moved on, and nobody's complaining about where Leeds are in the table now," Allardyce concluded.
