More than three months after quitting the Roots Hall hot seat, former West Ham and England star Alvin Martin finally broke his silence today to speak out about his turbulent reign as Southend United manager, and life after the Blues.

With the Blues plummeting head First towards the Conference League trapdoor, Alvin Martin threw in the manager's towel following a disastrous 1-0 home defeat against fellow Third Division strugglers Hull City on Friday, March 26.

The former top-flight defender realised he couldn't do any more to lift the rapidly sinking Shrimpers out of the doldrums and decided it was time to call it a day.

"After watching the Hull game I realised that my time was up - I'd played all my cards and I had to resign," Martin said from his home in Romford.

"The players were so low they were on the floor, they were desperate for something new to happen, which could only be achieved if I left.

"There was nothing else I could do to help the club pull itself out of trouble except give someone else a crack at the job - which I did."

However, Martin still believes the outcome of the Hull game could have been different if he had been able to turn back the clock and change a crucial tactical decision.

"The Hull game was a real six pointer for Southend and I decided to drop my skipper Simon Coleman for young defender Leo Roget," he said.

"We'd put on a poor display in a 2-1 defeat at Darlington the previous week and I felt I needed to change things.

"I scrapped our usual five-man defence in favour of a flat-back four and relegated Coleman to the substitutes bench, but Leo got himself sent-off which put us under pressure.

"In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do leaving out a player of Coleman's experience for such a big match and I still regret making that decision now."

Martin, though, is glad Southend pulled themselves out of trouble under the leadership of his successor, Alan Little, and still has a lot of affection for the Shrimpers.

"It hurt badly when I left Southend because I had seen my future there as long term - I could have stayed there for the next ten-years," he said.

"When I joined Southend it was to bring them success, I certainly didn't go to Roots Hall as a big time Charlie using the club as a stepping stone for bigger and better things.

"But despite my disappointment at the way things have worked out I would still take the manager's job at Roots Hall if I could go back in time and go through it all again.

"Southend is a great club with a lot of nice people, but I learnt a lot from my time there and I would do some things very differently."

Martin was made Southend boss by former Blues chairman Vic Jobson in July 1997, following Ronnie Whelan's resignation, but his first season ended in relegation from the Second Division.

"When I took over at Southend I knew I had a big job on my hands, but maybe I didn't realise just how big it was," added Martin.

"The club was on a downward spiral after just being relegated from the First Division and I was told I would have to sell players to generate cash to rebuild the team.

"But I didn't have a problem with that because in Mike Marsh and Leo Roget I believed I had two prize assets who we could sell.

"This wasn't the case though and Marsh, despite attracting interest from Southampton and Tranmere Rovers, was forced to retire and Roget was crocked for most of the season."

Despite these setbacks, Martin believed the squad he inherited would be good enough to hold their own in Second Division soccer.

"I felt that the nucleus of players from a team which had been playing in the First Division the previous season would be a fairly strong side," he said.

"But I soon discovered this wasn't the case and that we lacked quality in most departments on the field.

"With no cash to spend I had to get by using free transfers, loan players and kids to fill important positions such as central defence and in all honesty I knew we were going to struggle within eight weeks of accepting the job."

So Blues were relegated for a second successive season and despite the background promise of Martin Dawn plc's takeover bid for the club, Martin got on with the job again with no money.

"I think I was a bit naive at the start of last season because I felt we would definitely get out of the Third Division at the first attempt," he said.

"I think I set my sights too high, when I should have come out and explained we were in a bad way and needed a season of consolidation.

"The club had been allowed to fall apart and needed rebuilding from the bottom which I should have admitted."

However, Martin hasn't allowed his experiences at Southend and the taunts of the terrace boo-boys to put him off football management.

"I never knew how much it could hurt to be a football manager until I went to Southend," he explained.

"When I was a player I used to take losing badly, but as a manager it's a lot worse, you feel that someone has pulled the guts out of your body - it's so painful.

"But on the positive side I learned a lot during my 20 month spell at Southend which has given me a strong grounding for the future."

Martin turned down an immediate return to management with Blues' Third Division rivals Halifax Town two weeks after leaving Roots Hall, but is hoping to find something else in the near future.

"Whatever happens I'll still be following Southend's fortunes next season and I hope to go to Roots Hall and watch a few games."

A few regrets - for ex-Blues boss Alvin Martin

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