Martin on Ramsdale's introduction
Russell Martin praised Aaron Ramsdale for how quickly he has integrated into his new team, after he turned in a strong debut in the visit to Brentford.
With only one training session under his belt, the goalkeeper was put straight into the side at the Gtech Community Stadium following his transfer from Arsenal this week.
Despite being on the end of a 3-1 defeat, Ramsdale made some notable saves and Martin was impressed with what he saw, while reiterating the disappointment he also felt for Alex McCarthy after taking him out of the team.
"It was a massive signing for the club, character wise, ability wise," he said of Ramsdale. "Alex has taken it incredibly well, as I thought he would because of the character he is and the brilliant teammate, brilliant person he is. It just wasn't easy. It's never easy to take people off, to leave them out of the squad, to not play them, it's the most difficult part of the job.
"So to make that decision wasn't easy, but the way Alex has done it and supported Aaron, and Joe Lumley as well, because it's changed his position a little bit. But Rambo is going to help us hugely, you could see that today. He stuck at it after one training session and the lads are trying so hard, they're giving everything, they're fighting, so it's not for a lack of that and he will add to that hugely.
"And a lot of the other guys we've brought in as well are going to really help."
With the final weeks of the transfer window coinciding with the opening weeks of the season, Martin is pleased to now be at a point where his squad is set.
"It's brilliant. We have a big squad, probably bigger than expected, so I'm really grateful to the owners and to Phil [Parsons] and Mark Bitcon for the support and help and the backing they've given us, and now we have to make sure that we work so hard with everyone, because the games have been so tight we've been in," he said.
"That's the frustrating thing today. The scoreline probably doesn't reflect how tight the game was, but we're in a really good place culturally. The group togetherness, the belief in what they're doing, the way they train, the way they work and the quality we have in the squad is why I can come out here and feel really positive about what's to come, but also feel really annoyed and really frustrated and feel really disappointed that three games in we've not got anything, because it's madness really."
