Russell Martin preferred to savour a ‘beautiful day’ for Swansea City rather than dwell on the mess at Norwich City after inflicting a 3-0 Championship defeat on his old club.

Martin’s first competitive return as a coach went to plan on a day when many home fans directed their frustration towards sporting director Stuart Webber and the board.

Swansea moved level on points with the ailing Canaries, after Martin plotted a sixth win in the past seven.

“I don’t know anything about what is happening at Norwich. That is not for me to speak about,” he said. “I don’t know about David (Wagner’s) contact status, the situation with any players. What I do know from my time there that if you are a player, or anyone connected with Norwich in the Championship, they expect to be challenging at the right end of the table.

“I actually thought we started the game a little sloppy, to be honest. We were a little bit nervous and a bit tense in the first 15 minutes.

“But after that the lads started showing more care for each other with the ball, and from then on we were brilliant.

“When it was 11 versus 11 we deserved to be 2-0 up, in my opinion, and we could have been further ahead.

“They kept pressing and we kept hurting them in behind, the Liam Cullen goal is an outstanding team goal.

“The player then gets sent off and it becomes a test of mentality then.

“You could go gung-ho and try and score four or five, but it will make it a bit more difficult for you because Norwich still pose a threat with the players they have on the pitch.

“So discipline and structure was key, the mentality to keep working the ball and wait for the opening to arrive naturally without forcing it.

“The ball speed was excellent, and that made that second 45 minutes easier than it could have been for sure.”

Martin wants to turn Swansea into genuine Championship promotion contenders.

“When we came in, we said it would take time because of the way we work and how we would go about things and try and build,” he said.

“I think you can see the effects of that work now because of the way the players have committed to it.

“I think the fans, the way they have backed this team over the last six or seven weeks in particular has been amazing, and so has the connection they have shared with the team. It was a beautiful day for us all; the team and the fans that travelled a long, long way.

“All of that puts you in a pretty good place for next season and now we have to get things moving forward because we are showing we can compete at this level.”