Club career: The son of the great Con Martin, who won Irish caps as a defender, forward and goalkeeper, Mick was signed from Bohemians by Tommy Docherty for Manchester United in January 1973 (the £30,000 fee was a record for a League of Ireland club at the time). Made 43 appearances for United over the next three seasons before moving to third division West Bromwich Albion, managed by Johnny Giles. In 1978 Ron Atkinson, Giles's successor, sold him to Newcastle (£100,000) where he had the most successful spell of his career, making over 200 appearances for the club. Before his retirement in 1985 Martin had stints with Vancouver Whitecaps, Cardiff, Wolves, Peterborough, Rotherham and Preston. Became coach at Newcastle in 1987 and four years later took up the same post at Celtic under Liam Brady.
International career: Won the first five of his 52 caps when he was at Bohemians, his debut coming in 1971 in a 6-0 defeat by Austria in Linz. Would have won more caps but for a suspension that ruled him out for almost two years, following his part in the `Bulgaria Brawl' in 1977 (when he was one of four players sent off in the World Cup qualifier in Sofia). Made his final appearance in an Irish shirt in 1983, in a 2-0 defeat by Spain in Zaragoza.
Where is he now? Now 47, Martin has lived in the Wickham area of Newcastle for 20 years. He opened a bookmakers' shop in 1987 and a sports shop, `Zico', soon after. Since 1993, he has worked as a summariser on Newcastle games for Metro FM and is currently building up his own promotional company, Mick Martin Sports Management.
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