Russell Martin is excited to pit his wits against some of the best coaches in the world, after completing a notable play-off double with old club Norwich City and now Southampton.

Martin lifted the Championship trophy for the Canaries as captain at Wembley in 2015, and repeated that feat in charge of the Saints by edging out Daniel Farke’s Leeds to cap a memorable debut season on the south-coast.

The 38-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric coaching rise, after starting out with MK Dons and later Swansea.

Now Martin will duel against the likes of Pep Guardiola in the highest profile league in the world.

“People keep asking me what is the most exciting thing?,” he said. “I think it is to come up against some of the best managers in the world and to do try and do things in our own way against those teams, coaches and players. A lot to learn, a lot to improve but I am really looking forward to it.

“I’m looking forward to getting some sleep at some point. It has been amazing. I have been a manager for four years and to achieve this at 38 years old, I am really grateful for the opportunity I have been given. It is relentless, it is demanding, but I love what I do.

“To have that moment at Wembley, and to be able to give that to my family and for the players to do that for their families was incredible. Hopefully we can continue to improve and develop. Now the next aim is to make sure it works in the Premier League.”

Martin does not believe he will have to compromise his stylish brand of football.

“Hopefully we can continue to evolve and adapt it, but without losing the concept or the essence of what we want,” he said. “To try and dominate with the ball. To try and defend with the ball. To be aggressive and dominate territory and control the game as much as we can possibly can. So very possession-heavy, and it has got me this far.”

Martin’s long Carrow Road playing spell earned him international recognition with Scotland, and the Saints’ chief is backing Steve Clarke’s squad to make their mark at Euro2024 ahead of the opening game on Friday against hosts Germany.

“Steve Clarke has done an incredible job and I am sure they will do the country proud,” said Martin, who was recently back north of the border speaking to prospective coaches now embarking on the same Scottish FA pathway he took to obtain his badges. “I am getting over to a game. It will be incredible (to play Germany).

"I never got that opportunity, unfortunately, we got close a couple of times but it was not meant to be. I am really looking forward to it. I’m taking my son over to one of the games, and knowing a lot of the players and staff it will be amazing for them.

“I did my ‘Pro Licence’ with the SFA and I wanted to give something back to them. I did my ‘A’ Licence as well, so for three to four years they were excellent with me on my coaching journey. I met some brilliant people, made good connections.

"We went out to the Under-21 Euros, which was a brilliant experience. It was challenging and tough, because I was in a manager’s job at the time with MK Dons, but a really big part of the journey.”