Russell Martin not expected to return Swansea City as Luke Williams' replacement | OneFootball

Russell Martin previously managed Swansea City for two years before making Southampton switch

Russell Martin will reportedly not be making a return to Swansea City as manager following Luke Williams’ dismissal.

According to journalist Ben Jacobs, the 39-year-old is not going to fill the vacancy after the club parted ways with Williams on Monday evening.

Martin previously managed the Swans from August 2021 to June 2023, overseeing two full seasons in charge at the club, and is currently unemployed.

He led the team to 15th and 10th place finishes before making the switch to Southampton, where he guided the Saints to promotion to the Premier League at the first attempt.

Swansea City manager search latest

It is understood that Martin is not on the shortlist of potential candidates to take over at Swansea at the moment.

The 39-year-old is currently out of work after being sacked by Southampton earlier in the campaign, with the team struggling for results in the Premier League.

However, former Oxford United manager Des Buckingham is considered as a candidate to take over the Welsh outfit before the end of the campaign.

Williams was dismissed with the team suffering six defeats in their last seven league games, which effectively ended any hopes they had of competing for a play-off place.

It has also been reported by Darren Witcoop that both Rob Edwards and Ryan Mason are also in contention for the vacancy.

It’s believed that Swansea are in no rush to confirm an appointment at this stage.

Swansea City league position

Swansea have fallen to 17th in the Championship table, with a 3-1 defeat to Stoke City last weekend proving the final straw in Williams’ reign.

His successor will be the first managerial appointment for the new owners, who took over the club late last year.

The gap to the relegation zone is currently eight points, with the Swans 11 adrift of the play-offs, with 13 games still to play.

Next up for Swansea is a home clash with Blackburn Rovers on 22 February.

No return for martin is unsurprising

It’s no surprise that Martin won’t be coming back to Swansea at this stage, as that may feel like a step backwards for him in his career.

He now has experience in the Premier League, and has proven he can earn promotion from the Championship with the right backing.

Given how things ended at Southampton, he may want to take an extended break from football for the time being as well.

If Martin is going to come back to the Championship at this point, then it’s likely that he’ll want a side further up the table.