There will have been endless thoughts running through Russell Martin's head when he was training with Norwich City's under-23s.

Many of them may have been in Daniel Farke's direction, after the German had brought an abrupt end to his seven years of service at Carrow Road and left him wondering what his next career move was.

It's unlikely that any of those thoughts involved meeting him as a manager in the play-off final, but seven years later that's the reality he faces.

The pair have met before; their coaching history goes as far back as a 2020 pre-season clash when Martin was at MK Dons. They've even met twice this term, with Martin's Southampton coming out victorious on both occasions, but this is an entirely different stage, an unimaginable magnitude of game.

Well, for Farke it is, but the Saints boss has been there and done it all before in yellow and green. As if the play-off-winning former captain of the Canaries returning to the same game wasn't enough of a Norfolk flavour.

But Farke's connection with his former club is much more recent, having demolished them 4-0 at Elland Road to get his Leeds United side through to the final.

The Pink Un: Daniel Farke's Leeds knocked his former side out in the semi-finalDaniel Farke's Leeds knocked his former side out in the semi-final (Image: PA)

That did little to tarnish his reputation as a two-time title winner with the club and a man who knitted the footballing community together, but there will remain a level of trauma for any City fan watching the same team do battle this weekend.

Martin's done his best to play down the connection, or perhaps drama, between him and Farke, being very courteous in his pre-match media.

"I've gone up against Paul Lambert and Alex Neil, too," he told Sky Sports. "It's always good catching up with my old managers.

"I didn't play for Daniel very much, so it's not quite the same as those guys, but I respect what he's done with Norwich and now Leeds. The work he's done at this level has been outstanding.

"You can know a bit about their work and their process, but I'm sure it's developed a lot and evolved since I played for him, because everyone does over time.

"Ultimately though it's not about us, it's about the teams, and whoever can manage the emotion and the occasion, and who has the best game plan and carries it out."

Farke was similarly complimentary when it came to his press conference, saying the signs of Martin's managerial prowess were there when he first met.

"I was blessed when I went into Norwich and he was my captain," Farke recalled. "It was my first experience of English football as a lesser experienced coach and Russell was in the later stages of his career.

"He was the club captain and in the first weeks you could tell in this time he would become a manager. He judged the games and what was happening in the dressing room with the eyes of a manager.

"I was quite sure he would do a good job as a manager as he was desperate to do this one day. As a captain he was a leader of men and I sensed many skills that are important if you want to lead a group as a manager. Right now he's proving me right."

But you can be sure the courtesy will go out of the window once the two sides enter the pitch in West London and the Premier League is in sight. As Martin rightly points out, the main motivator for both men will be promotion, no matter what's gone before.

There will just be an iota of extra incentive, however, given the past that few are not aware of. Norwich City may not actually be in this play-off final, but there's definitely a smell of them in the air.