Russell Martin admits he has never been busier – and that could lead to a special day when his two cities collide in the Championship.

The former Varndean student is stepping things up with his Russell Martin Academy, which kicked into life around Sussex last summer.

Trials are under way for male and female players for places on college programmes at Varndean and Ifield.

The academy have seen their first player join Albion and are fixing up matches with professional clubs.

Teams will travel to face Norwich City on April 22, when the Canaries face Albion in the Championship.

Starting a college programme, for 16-to-19-year-olds, is seen as key by Martin.

The Norwich skipper said: “We wanted to create a pathway “At that age there is a massive fall out and there are a lot of kids who want to continue playing football.

“We have got some really good players and it will be exciting for us.

“We are hoping to get a few players who have been at pro clubs and help them back into that area.

“We have also got some fantastic links to US colleges, where they can aim for scholarships.”

Former Crawley and Eastbourne Borough player Jay Lovett, who has an impressive coaching background, is joining Sergio Torres on the academy staff.

Martin is excited about the coming challenges.

He said: “It means a lot to me, as my old college, to be going into Varndean and they are very keen to improve their football provision “I will be back to do sessions when I can.

“There will be games when they can test themselves against pro clubs and they get a fantastic education as well. They have to do well enough in their education to continue to train and play.

The Argus:

One of the Russell Martin Academy elite line-ups before a match

“We will set standards – and those standards will be high. I’m big on that because I did my A-levels and you need a back-up.”

He added: “There are so many ways into football compared to even when I was young.

“We can explore options like recruitment, coaching, sports science, analysis “We will have guest speakers and mentors within those areas, maybe the chance to get some work experience.

“They will get their level one coaching badges while on the course, level two if they are interested.

“And, if they need voluntary hours, they can do those at our school programmes, which are really doing well.”

RMA under-13 John Lucero has joined up with Albion and two players have had trials extended with QPR.

Martin said: “We want players to have these opportunities. If that’s at the Albion, great. If not, hopefully it will be elsewhere.

“I’m delighted with how it has gone. We have grown quicker than I expected but that is from good coaching and good philosophy on how to treat kids and their parents.

“We are getting over 300 kids a week at our football centres. We’re at seven or eight primary schools and we have had two more contact us to do their after-school clubs next year.

“We have played matches, with our elite lads, against Charlton and Peterborough and we have got QPR and Fulham coming up.

“They are all coming up on the day we play the Albion at Norwich. They will play in the morning and come to the game in the afternoon.

“The next step would be to get our own facility and we are in the process of that.

“I’ve been busier than I ever expected but we want to grow steadily. We want to keep our levels of service and coaching as high as possible.”

To register an interest or enquire about the Varndean or Ifield college courses, email info@russellmartinacademy.co.uk or call 07921 338956.