Martin was chosen to represent the
Scottish Football League in 1952 and two years later earned his first full
Scotland cap in a 1–0 win against
Norway, making his debut alongside
Dons teammates
Paddy Buckley and
George Hamilton. He was selected in the Scotland squad for the
1954 World Cup and played in both Scotland's matches, a 1–0 defeat by
Austria and a 7–0 defeat by
Uruguay. Martin was considered partially responsible for scale of the Uruguayan defeat and dropped, with his inconsistency being highlighted in the media. In the opinion of Scottish football journalist and historian
Bob Crampsey "when the mood was upon him, he could be very good, but at other times, played exactly as you would expect an inside-right to play if shoved between the posts." Martin was recalled for games against
Hungary and
England in late 1954 and early 1955 but on each occasion Scotland lost heavily (4–2 and 7–2 respectively) and his international career was effectively over. He conceded a total of 20 goals in his six games for Scotland. ==Post football==