Since arriving from Atletico Madrid towards the end of July, the 28-year-old Bulgarian has fitted in well with some eye-catching performances on the left wing.
City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has complimented Martin’s leadership qualities, and speaking to the new official City Magazine the player says:
“It is comforting to think that the manager thinks so highly of me and has said those nice things about my influence on the pitch, but first and foremost the most important thing for me, and the rest of the foreign players that are here, is to adapt to life and work in England as quickly as possible.
“We are doing that with every second and every minute we have at our disposal thanks to our team-mates and the staff at City.
“What I can say already is that City is a happy club where the players are treated very well. I don’t know about me being a leader. First of all I have to prove on the pitch that I deserve a place in the side and justify that such a great and famous manager has put faith in me after bringing me from Spain.
“It obviously makes a player feel better when he knows the manager admires his talent. He is one of the big reasons that I wanted to come here and I like the fact that we are encouraged to move the ball forward quickly and attack whenever possible.”
Martin is also happy with life off the field, and he’s delighted with the way City’s fans have made him feel welcome when he has met them around Manchester.
He continues, “My main aim now is to make the fans happy. I have been greatly encouraged by their welcome and the way they support the team. At the moment I have no car or permanent home and I am travelling almost exclusively between the hotel and the training ground.
“But what I have noticed is that whenever I have been out in the city having a meal with Valeri Bojinov, City fans are quick to come up and wish us luck and that is great. The fans give us positive energy. We have certainly got off to a good start as a team so hopefully that will continue. I like the city centre.”
You can read the full interview with Martin in the new official City Magazine, on sale from Wednesday in all good outlets across the Manchester area.
