Every word: Southampton's Martin on Swansea and transfers

How special is it for you to go back to Swansea and possibly smash Southampton’s unbeaten record?

RM: It just happens to be this game. The guys have been amazing. I’m looking forward to going back and seeing a lot of people, but I really want to win for the players, for the staff here, for Jason (Wilcox), Phil (Parsons), the owners, and the fans who are going to travel and have travelled relentlessly so far this season.

There have been some tough games and some brilliant ones as well. It can be brilliant for the players and us. If we make a bit of history, it will be great, but the biggest incentive is to still finish the day in second ahead of Ipswich playing on Monday.

There is a lot at stake at this stage of the season. I want us to finish the day in second place and that would mean we would have equalled or broken a record and made some history together which would be amazing for the guys. I look forward to catching up with a lot of people after that.

What kind of reception are you expecting?

RM: I don’t know. I don’t think you can ever expect anything in this game. They were amazing with me after the game here especially considering the result. They were brilliant when I was there, so I don’t know.

I think there is a different feel to the place now Luke (Williams) has gone in. It’s a very different proposition, a very different game to the one we had just over three weeks ago. It is going to be a tougher game than it was.

It was a tough game for 60-odd minutes. They had a couple of big moments early on, but we are aware of some of the quality players they have got and the quality of person and character they have got. It will be a different game.

I was extremely grateful for the two years I had there. I spoke so much about that before the previous game. The reception I get I cannot control at all but if it’s a nice one, it will be amazing, and if it’s not that’s their prerogative.

I loved my time there. I’ve been really clear, open, and honest about that. I have a lot of affection for the club, the place, and the people. I want to go there tomorrow to compete and win.

How special will it be to see Luke Williams and Ryan Harley?

RM: Ryan is a dear friend. We played together and Gilly (Matt Gill) played with him as well at Exeter. They used to travel together every day. He is someone we know very well, and we have a lot of love for him. He’s a brilliant person.

Luke is someone who helped me so much as a manager at 33, changing from player to manager overnight. It was a bit unexpected, and he was great. He was so good.

Gilly wasn’t allowed to come and join. I remember ringing Paul Lambert and he wasn’t very happy with me. After speaking to a few people, I needed to meet Luke. We met and we had a very similar view and vision of the game which you can probably see through our teams.

We had a brilliant two and a half years together. I will be eternally grateful to him. I took so much from him, and I hope as I said before he took as much from me as I took from him. I will always be grateful for the role he played.

He was always going to be a manager again and he went and done a brilliant job at Notts County. Now he’s got a job that I know he’ll be extremely grateful to have because he knows the club and he enjoyed it the first time around.

I think he’ll do a brilliant job and I’m pleased for him and Ryan because they are two good people and two people who helped me on my journey a lot.

I spoke to Ryan this week. We didn’t talk tactics or the game, but I know he’s enjoying it and it will be nice to see them both after the game once we’ve screamed and shouted at each other a little bit in the dugouts.

Is Joe Rothwell in the frame to be in the squad?

RM: He’ll be in the squad. He’s looking good. It will take some time to get used to what we are asking of him. It’s very different from what he’s been asked to do at Blackburn and Bournemouth, but he is a really talented footballer and a really good athlete.

When you add them two ingredients and the character he’s got, I think it’s exciting for us. He’s a really good addition. We have good depth in midfield. Obviously, Joe Aribo is away at the moment.

We have different players now. We have different options for different games, and he gives us something that we didn’t have, and he also has fantastic set-piece delivery. I’m excited to work with Joe.

I hated playing against him when he was at Blackburn. It’s always a good sign if it’s a player you don’t enjoy facing. I think we can help him, and I think he can help us. That’s a brilliant thing to have and he is open to learning.

He has watched a few of our games this year. He is great friends with Arma and Jack because he knows Arma from Blackburn and Jack from last season.

I spoke to them a lot about him before he came about his character, about his ability and both were like ‘If we can get him, 100 per cent.’ I think it’s important to listen to players at that point.

Maybe because of my age and stuff, I think it’s important to get a feel of the players that have shared dressing rooms with certain people and players. It’s the best way to get a feel from people behind closed doors every day. That was a benefit I had when I took over at MK Dons.

I’d seen all the players every single day and what they were about. When you have two brilliant characters, one is our captain, and one is our vice-captain who spoke so highly of him then it’s a no-brainer for us. I’m pleased.

I know Jason has put a lot of work into the deal and the ownership group have been fantastic this window in understanding and supporting what we want or feel we need.

I said we won’t be doing much. Joe’s in, maybe one more at some point but apart from that I’m happy with the squad.

What would your message be to clubs who want to take Che Adams or Kyle Walker-Peters?

RM: My message is probably different from the party line. Go away probably. I want to keep them all. Honestly, I love the group of players I’m working with so much. What they have given us from where they came from to where they are now and the way they interact with each other, and the staff is beautiful to watch.

I really enjoy that. It is such a privilege to see how much they’ve grown together and how together they are now. I’m so grateful to them. To keep them hungry, to keep them humble, to keep them together, to keep them wanting to learn and improve which they do so much.

They’re so open and they have always got ideas. Che is a big part of that, and Kyle is a huge part of that. They are both very happy. I believe them when we have honest conversations.

I don’t think anyone is in a rush to leave the club. We’ve had interest from players in this window where the players just shot the interest down straight away because they want to be part of something here.

A lot of them feel that the best thing for everyone would be to get to the Premier League together and then see where this way of playing can take them in the Premier League.

I think that’s genuinely a lot of the players thoughts but of course, a lot can change between now and next week. I’m aware of that.

It’s January and it's chaos but I hope we are left with both, I do. If we have lost anyone, I’m pretty sure we’ll try and replace them.

Would the club find it hard to turn down big money?

RM: I think Kyle’s very different to Che. Che’s got six months left on his contract and I couldn’t tell you what the right money is. It’s not my job. I’ll leave that to Jason and the owners.

They keep me in the loop with everything, Jason (Wilcox), Phil (Parsons), Henrik (Kraft), and Rasmus (Ankersen). They know my feelings about it as well.

I’m never going to be happy to sit there and be happy to lose a player. They know my feelings if we lose them and what I feel we need to do.

Ultimately, Che is in such a good place, he’s playing with so much freedom and energy. It has been nice to watch him over the last four or five games. I hope we can continue working with him, but we will have to wait and see.

What’s it going to be like with the 12:30 PM kick-off in Swansea?

RM: It’s interesting, isn’t it? There is a lot. It’s your ex-club. A guy I worked with who I have a lot of fondness and affection for. The same with the players on the pitch. I’m looking forward to seeing some people in the background who don’t get any plaudits but they’re amazing people.

Ultimately, we are on a fantastic run and we’re in a brilliant place. We’re at a club that I feel is growing and coming together all the time. We’re doing things differently from the academy through now in a way that will hopefully be beneficial and sustainable to the club for a long time.

It’s a club I feel a huge responsibility for and a privilege to manage. I want to win. That’s my overriding feeling. I got asked about it this morning from a friend. ‘How do you feel about going back?’.

I don’t think you know but I’m quite an emotional guy, I hide that well, not. I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of people, but I want to win. I want our team to make some history together.

I want to remain unbeaten. I want to be in second place at the end of the day. Maybe after the game for an hour or two, I get to see some people before we make the long journey home.

How do you see the competition for places between Flynn Downes and Joe Rothwell?

RM: I think Joe is more of an advanced one. We have Flynn (Downes), Shea (Charles), and Will (Smallbone) who can play the deeper role as well when we need him too, but Joe is one of the more advanced ones with Joe Aribo, Stuey, and Carlos (Alcaraz).

We have good depth. This month is less busy but next month is chaos again. We are going to need depth and we are going to need different options for different games. Joe possesses a few things that some of the other guys don’t.

Some of the guys possess stuff that Joe doesn’t. I have given myself a problem with picking the team and leaving some really good players out, but I think we have helped ourselves a lot with the addition of Joe.

He was someone we identified early. He was our number one choice in that position because one of the biggest parts of his game is picking the ball up and driving and taking the team forward. He's fantastic at it.

I don’t see him as competition for Flynn very much but one thing I would say is it’s a new addition in the building this week, it just raises the level again and they train like beasts. I love watching them train. We spoke about it this week, how hard they train.

I think our subs have got more assists and goals than any other team in the league and a lazy assumption will be because of the quality of the player, but it’s because they are ready.

They train so hard. They push each other. They understand their role. They come on and a lot of the time their mate has done the softening up on the opposition for them. They then come on and finish the job. That is the role of the team and the squad.

We have given ourselves another brilliant option to start or to come on, to raise the level of the group again and it’s only a good thing.

Does his arrival stop you from looking for a right winger?

RM: I don’t think so. I said right at the start of the window that we probably have two areas (to target). Maybe Joe’s wasn’t an area we thought we were going to look into adding but we have, and we have got it done reasonably early for January.

I think there will be a lot going on in the next week or so but not for us. I don’t want to excite people but for a lot of teams (it will be busy). I don’t think it changes (the need for a right-winger).

Joe isn’t going to pop up on the right wing and suddenly start doing five stepovers. We are not asking him to do that.

We are asking him to come here and play his game but to understand his role for us and the structure. He’ll be great.

There is speculation about Walker-Peters and Chelsea, do you think you would know if any of the players wanted to go?

RM: I spoke to Kyle, and I also know his agent well. I know Jason speaks to his agent a lot. I actually worked with Kyle’s agent before. There has been no conversation at all about him wanting to leave.

I think everyone agrees that he is in such a good place. He’s such a talented footballer. I think he’s enjoying himself. We’re playing in a way where he gets to express himself and show how good he can be. I don’t have a concern about that.

I think it would take a lot of money for him to be prized away from here. We will see. It doesn’t surprise me that clubs like that are interested in him because of his level of talent.

I can’t control any of that, it’s not worth wasting energy on until someone’s willing to pay what we’re happy with. Then I’ll have a conversation with Kyle but until then we’ll keep working and trying to improve on the stuff he feels, and we feel he needs to improve on.

Also, we need to keep trying to highlight what he can do and his strengths because he has some incredible attributes. He does stuff that I have never seen people do before. It’s crazy. He’s a really gifted person.

How does a player like Walker-Peters play every single minute in this physical division?

RM: He does get kicked a lot. I spoke to a couple of the Sheffield Wednesday players, and they were desperate to kick him as well. He’s a good pro and is in fantastic condition. He’s a very good athlete.

His mentality has grown as the season has gone on. I think he’s enjoying himself. It’s much easier to keep playing, keep grinding, and keep going when you’re enjoying things. He’s been a big player for us.

Hopefully between now and the end of the season, we can continue to do that. I think he’s still got stuff he can help with moving forward. His role changes a lot in the team as well. Sometimes he’s high, sometimes he’s low, sometimes he goes into midfield but he’s so gifted.

Our biggest challenge with Kyle is to keep him stimulated, and challenged, give him enough stimulus, keep him motivated, and keep giving him different roles that help the team in different games but also when he feels he can attack it and get excited about it.

How important is it to continue the unbeaten run and put pressure on promotion rivals?

RM: I said to the guys last week that I want it to finish now because Ipswich were kicking off late and we weren’t in second for very long. Ipswich did very well to win after going behind.

Now we can be in second for a bit longer if we win and do our job. That’s all we can do is focus on ourselves. I know the unbeaten record will be an amazing achievement if we can do it, but the biggest incentive is to put ourselves in a position in the league that we want to be in.

We can then keep hunting Leicester after that. We will wait and see. What the guys have done in the last 20-odd games has been incredible and we must keep it going. They’re in such a good place.

It is now just about not overcoaching them and not complicating things. There are maybe one or two things every game that are going to help us and then it’s all about mentality and being the team, we want to be.

It will be another challenge this weekend. It will be a difficult game, but I think wherever we have gone, the team is so brave, so aggressive but we now need to convert a few of these away games that we’ve had into three points and not just one.