The Saints were surprise Championship playoff winners, gaining promotion to the top flight a year after relegation.
Asked about the new season, Martin stated: “Yeah, I'm feeling excited about it. Really looking forward to the challenge. Really looking forward to the game. And how ready we are, I guess we'll see. It's always difficult, the first game.
“You don't know where other teams are. Pre-season games are very difficult to gauge anything from, really, in terms of when the league starts, because the opposition you're playing against are different. Formations change. Players change.
“We'll wait and see. I think the first game is always interesting. I feel like we're at a point now where we need the first game to come. I'm not sure if we had any more training time, what we'd work on because we're really happy with the work we've done.
“And the players just need it to come now. I think everyone does. It'll be nice to get it out of the way.”
On being favorites for relegation, he added: “Yeah, I think it will become part of the story, I'm sure, for us. But honestly, even last season, when it was going very well, when we had a few tough moments as well, it just didn't affect us.
“The external narrative doesn't affect the process or the work that we do, really, whether that's really positive or negative.
“So, we all concentrate on trying to be the team we want to be, on working how we work, on the process that's got us this far, and trying to be better at it.”
On playing Newcastle first, he finished: “Yeah, they're very different to us. They've been together a long time. Eddie and Jason have had a brilliant career. I think for a young British coach to look at them and see what they've achieved and what they've done is really great.
“They've had the opportunities they've had and they've earned the opportunities they've had because it's not been an easy journey for them. So the fact they're doing it now at the very top level, got the team to the Champions League, I think it's an incredible achievement.
“So yeah, it's a tough game and they have a really strong identity in what they do. They're really clear. I played against Eddie's team a lot as a player. It's a Bournemouth team and they were really clear.
“So they're obviously very good coaches and they look like they have a team and a crowd and a fan base that are fully behind them. That's really powerful, especially up there at St James' Park.
“So we know we're going to have to manage that and take the temperature out of the game as much as we can and try and be ourselves as much as we can. And then we'll see where it takes us.”