Russell Martin: 'Of course I think what might have been', says Southampton's ex-Swansea City boss

Russell Martin is back home on England's south coast, making a mark at one of the Championship's heavyweight clubs and eyeing a genuine chance to manage in the Premier League.

For Martin, and Southampton, these are exciting times.

Yet while his focus now is the Saints, Martin still wonders about how things might have worked out at Swansea City.

"Of course," he told BBC Sport Wales. "I think what might have been if we'd done a bit more last January, if we'd then been given the security of the future which we'd been told we were going to get for quite some time and then didn't.

"We could have kept on building, who knows, but it hasn't happened.

"Now we are having an opportunity somewhere else at a brilliant club that we are really enjoying, and I think gives us a huge chance of finally showing what we can do if we are really supported."

Martin will be reunited with Swansea when they visit St Mary's on 26 December.

It is a first meeting of the clubs since Martin left Swansea in June to take over as Southampton head coach following their relegation from the Premier League.

After two largely happy years in Wales, it is not a fixture Martin is relishing.

"I have to be honest, I am not looking forward to it, purely because to compete against so many people that you have a lot of fondness and affection for is quite difficult," he said.

Martin's Swansea won admirers for a bold, possession-heavy brand of football which backfired at times but carried them to within three points of the play-offs last season and also delivered some red-letter days.

Among those were four, history-making derby victories over Cardiff City which will live long in Swansea memories.

Russell Martin celebrates Swansea City's derby win at Cardiff City last season

Defensive failings were an issue during the Martin era - Swansea scored goals, but often conceded them too - while last season's play-off hopes were badly undermined by a miserable January in which they failed to sign a player.

After the transfer window closed, Martin brought his entire backroom staff into a press conference as a show of unity while declaring that Swansea's transfer policy needed to change.

With hindsight, that meeting with the media marked the beginning of the end of his time at the club.

Martin's criticism was aimed directly at Swansea's American ownership group - and he feels that was not forgotten on the other side of the Atlantic.

Martin said on numerous occasions last season that he wanted to extend his contract - which ran until 2024 - in order to give clarity to players and staff over Swansea's future direction.

A concrete offer never came.

'I paid the price for being honest'

"I was as honest [with the fans] through you guys [in the media] as I could be and probably paid the price for that eventually… well I definitely paid the price for that eventually," Martin said.

"But I wouldn't change it because I think the people deserved that, because it's a brilliant place and a brilliant club.

"Fortunately for us it's ended up working out okay because we are at a fantastic club and really enjoying ourselves."

After a mixed start to the season - there were four straight defeats in September - Southampton are thriving.

Martin's side are fourth in the Championship after Saturday's victory at Queens Park Rangers, which stretched their unbeaten run to 15 games.

Russell Martin signed a three-year deal at Southampton in June following the departure of Ruben Selles

"The way the team looks now compared to what it was at the beginning - I am loving watching the players grow all the time," said Martin, for whom home is Brighton. "Hopefully we can keep it going."

At his old club, meanwhile, a scrap to stay clear of the bottom three has looked more likely this season than a push for the top six.

Caretaker boss Alan Sheehan will lead Swansea for the fifth time at Southampton as the club continue the search for a successor to Michael Duff, who failed as Martin's replacement.

"There was two years of work there with us and that group. Then I think they have probably tried to change too much, too quickly potentially in terms of the style," Martin said.

"If I look at the money they spent in the summer and some of the signings they made, I think they recruited for a different shape to what they have ended up playing, for one reason or another.

"Obviously the manager has gone so who knows what will happen, but I think the squad is definitely capable of having more points than they have currently.

"They will push on. A new manager comes in and it will be onwards and upwards in the table because of the amount of quality they have."

Unlike some managers - like Duff, for example - Martin established a bond with Swansea and their fans during his two years at the helm.

'Managing against Cardiff gave me some of my best days'

That connection was apparent after Southampton beat Cardiff earlier this month, when Martin gestured in reference to the south Wales derby rivalry while celebrating on the pitch.

"My kids were in the crowd. I am getting called certain things for 90 minutes, so I thought 'yeah, I am going to enjoy it for 20 seconds afterwards'," Martin said.

"I am pretty sure I am not very welcome in Cardiff and it will be an interesting reception I get back there.

"But managing against them for the Swans gave me some of my best days. If they want to give me a bit of stick it's fine, but I am also entitled to give a little bit back I think."

Martin will hope for a better reception from Swansea's travelling fans on Tuesday, though he says nothing is guaranteed.

"We will see," he said. "There will be people who didn't like what we did at Swansea, and some who liked it.

"But I hope they understood that we gave absolutely everything we could and bought in completely to the place, the people and the club, and tried to take the best care of it that we could."