Martin, was born in Southampton and played and scored 16 goals for England at schoolboy and youth level.

A striker, who had played at centre-forward and centre-half with Brighton in the reserves as well  making 2 first team apperances at the Goldstone Ground between 1983 and 1985.
He played six times for Torquay after he signed for them in 1985 before being released.

Martin contacted Colin Appleton at Exeter for a trial, who he joined in 1985. It is not clear whether he played in a trial game or not.

After his trial was ended in November 1985, he joined Worthing and in December 1985, scored twice for Worthing to knock Brighton out of the Sussex Senior Cup.
He then moved to Europe, wher he played in Holland, Belgium and France (Sedan), scoring 50 times in nearly 100 games.
In the Summer of 1989, Martin returned to Brighton on a free transfer, where played for the reserves. He transferred to conference side Wycombe Wanderers in November 1989 for £15,000. He scored 5 times in 19 games, moving onto play for Bogner Regis Town, Saltdean, Worthing, Crawley and Chertsey Town.