Swansea City have no fresh injury concerns ahead of their derby clash with Cardiff City this weekend.
Jay Fulton and Joel Latibeaudiere return from suspension for the crunch fixture in the Welsh capital while midfielder Joe Allen has fully recovered from the muscle injury he sustained in the 1-0 defeat to Luton Town.
And the head coach believes he will have the strongest bench of his tenure to date when they make the trip east up the M4 on Saturday, with the international contingent all returning to Fairwood unscathed.
READ MORE: Why Cardiff City v Swansea City South Wales derby isn't being shown on TV
"The squad’s looking good," Martin said. "Everyone’s fit, Joe Allen's back which is really nice so he’ll be involved. The international boys have come back really well.
"Olivier [Ntcham] has done a lot of travelling compared to most of them so we'll have to take it easy with him and make sure he’s in the best place for Saturday. We’ll assess that again tomorrow."
On the availability of Allen - who will be involved in a South Wales derby for the first time in 12 years - Martin commented: "It’ll be really important for us. He’s lived this occasion, he’s been part of it.
"We’ve got a few players who have been a part of the last few games against them. But it’s just his understanding of the game and having that depth available to us ahead of such an important game so it’s nice.
"Having Jay and Lats back, I think it’ll be, without doubt, the strongest bench we’ve had since we’ve been at the club.
"We’ve got a couple of decisions to make on the team with Jay and Lats coming back and Joe fit. It’s a tough position but a really nice one."
Martin boasts a 100 per cent winning record in the South Wales derby having secured three victories against the Bluebirds since joining the club in August 2021.
He was also the first manager to oversee a league double in the fixture, although he is under no illusions that, under new boss Sabri Lamouchi, Cardiff will prove to be stern opposition.
"None of them have been easy," he said of his record. "This one definitely won’t be easy. We’re expecting the same thing, a team desperate to beat us.
"They’ll be desperate to make up for how they felt after the last one this season. They’re in a tough place in the league at the moment but they’ve shown some real positive signs under the new management team. It’s going to be difficult away from home, but it’s one we’re really looking forward to.
"Local derbies tend to take context out of the picture. That’s because of the emotion and intensity of it. We’ve handled the occasions brilliantly in previous ones which I think will help us in this one, for sure.
"Because of previous results we can go into it with much less fear than we could have. We’ll embrace it all, feel it all and most of all, enjoy it. I’m excited about it."
Meanwhile, the head coach said it would be a positive if the club could secure fresh investment.
It's understood the top brass have held talks with potential new investors of late as they bid to return to the Premier League.
"I see it as a real positive," he said. "I don’t know how far down the line it is.
"If it happens it’ll be a real positive but I have nothing to do with that really so we'll just have to wait and see."
READ MORE:
