CHRIS Martin chalked off a couple of career goals in Faro this week. First competitive start for Scotland, tick. Maiden international goal, tick. Now it is time for the Derby County striker to reset his sights on another grand ambition, the challenge of ensuring it is third time lucky in the East Midlands club's pursuit of the Barclays Premier League.
Promoted to club captain under the new management of former Real Madrid coach Paul Clement, Martin's Derby currently sit seventh in the Championship, hoping to go one better than a couple of recent agonising near misses. In May 2014, they lost a 90th minute goal to a ten-man QPR side in the play-off final at Wembley, then last season they spent much of the season riding high before taking two points from the last nine available and finishing out of the play-off spots in eighth.
“It is a massive honour," said Martin, ahead of this afternoon's televised meeting with play-off rivals Wolves. "It is the first time I have been captain of any club and for the manager to pull me aside and say he wanted me to be the captain and do the job was a real nice feeling. We have had three wins and a draw since I got made captain so that isn't bad either."
Whether Martin is traditional captaincy material is a moot point. Managers often opt for a player further back in the park such as a centre half or midfielder to take a leadership role but Martin is certainly cantankerous enough to fill the position. His stern father Gerry from Easterhouse clearly passed on that gene but in fact being captain has brought out Martin's softer side.
"I am quite impatient so I think it has forced me to be a little bit more patient with my team-mates," said Martin. "I like to moan at them a little bit at times, I have been known for that, they will tell you more than me, but being captain forces you to become more positive. As a striker you want the ball as much as possible, you want crosses coming in the box and different things, and you probably see things from a different perspective. I can be slightly impatient at times but that can be a good trait too."
While things haven't exactly been plan sailing for Martin's former boss Steve McClaren at Newcastle, the striker expects him to turn things around, but his only priority is making sure that he joins him in the top flight next summer. "It is third time lucky now for me," said Martin. "Hopefully the experiences of the last couple of years shows we can hopefully not make the same mistakes again."
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