Swansea identify Russell Martin as their new head coach | Soccer Information

Swansea City announced the appointment of Russell Martin as its new head coach on a three-year contract.

The former Scottish international moves from League One MK Dons to Liberty Stadium.

Sky Bet Championship Club, which lost to Brentford in the play-off final last season, will pay approximately £ 400,000 in compensation to Martin, who will replace Steve Cooper and will be supported by Luke Williams, Matt Gill and Dean Thornton from his coaching staff Milton Keynes.

CEO Julian Winter told Swansea’s official website: “We’re excited to announce Russell as our new head coach.

“It fits very well with the profile of a young and hungry coach who wants to be successful.

“After praising Milton Keynes Dons for the attractive, aggressive style he implemented, we quickly realized that Russell would be the right person to help us move forward.

“He was the captain of Peterborough and Norwich and won promotion (as a player) five times, which tells you all about his leadership and winning mentality.”

Martin was appointed to the MK Stadium in November 2019 and led the club out of the risk of relegation in its first season.

Last season the Dons finished 13th in Sky Bet League One and only Manchester City and Barcelona had a higher percentage of ball possession in Europe.

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Steve Cooper left Swansea after taking them to the play-off finals last season

Swansea took an official approach to Martin on Friday, the day before the Dons’ first game of the season, angering the Sky Bet League One club.

They lost 5-0 to Bournemouth in the first round of the Carabao Cup, Martin’s last game in charge.

A statement by Dons on Saturday said: “MK Dons can confirm that Swansea City has officially spoken to Russell Martin about her vacant leadership position.

Saturday, August 14th 7:30 pm

Kick-off at 8:00 p.m.

“To our great disappointment, this was received less than 24 hours before our first competitive game of the season.

“In order to minimize disruption to our players and our game preparation, it was decided that this would be discussed after today’s game.”

Former Chelsea number two Jody Morris was a contender for the job in Swansea while QPR assistant boss John Eustace was ready to take control – before deciding to stay with the Rangers after talks with the Swans.