The 26-year-old penned a contract with the Capital club last month following his departure from Bonnyrigg Rose and hasn’t looked back since. The former Stenhousemuir and Falkirk shot-stopper can’t wait for the new campaign to kick off in just over a fortnight’s time when Championship outfit Queen’s Park are the visitors to the Vanloq Community Stadium on Premier Sports Group A duty. A trip to Premiership newcomers Falkirk is also on the cards later next month. Martin endured a disappointing end to last season that culminated in Rose being relegated to the Lowland League after a 3-1 aggregate defeat to SPFL League Two newcomers, East Kilbride. However, he is determined to look forward under the stewardship of Samuel. “Relegation is something you’ll always look back on and never be fine with it,” he told the Evening News. “You think about if you could have done something differently so it was tough, that’s for sure. But you have to look forward because football can turn on you very fast. It was a very enjoyable time at Bonnyrigg, but I hardly got a good run because of my fitness and injury. I need to get back to the place where I can play a lot of games. I hope they can get promoted next season. They’re a brilliant club and a very well supported one at that. “I was keen to stay in the SPFL. I want to be challenging myself and playing at a level I know I can do well at. Better players put bigger demands on you so that’s what’s exciting with Spartans. “Dougie and I had a really good chat. He’s very honest and authentic. He leaves you in no uncertain terms on how he believes football should be played and what he expects from you. But he’s also really keen on development. “I’ve been really impressed so far and I said that to the gaffer after the first week. Everything is so professional. You know in advance what the schedule is and what you’re going to cover in a training session. It’s explained to you why you’re doing the drills and I think that’s been one of the main takeaways. But there’s some really strong players in the squad, both technically and physically. It’s exciting to be a part of so hopefully it can all come together.” Martin acknowledged he has a fight on his hands if he is to wrestle the gloves off club stalwart Blair Carswell. He is hoping for some game-time when Ayr United visit on Tuesday in Spartans first pre-season fixture. He said: “The gaffer was very clear that he doesn’t believe in having a No.1, in the same way that having a centre forward who is going to play every week. It’s just not the reality of football. Blair did really well last season so it’s not as if I’ve joined a club who are leaking goals every game. There is a really strong defence too so there’s going to be that competition that will benefit us both. “Having finished fifth last season, we need to be finishing in the play-offs as a minimum. I think you really bed in with your team-mates when the games start so we’re looking forward to getting going against Ayr. The potential of this club is huge and the opportunity is there to really maximise that.”