Lens, formed by coal miners 105 years ago, won their first and only national French title in 1998 but now find themselves needing to roll up their sleeves and battle for top flight survival after a disappointing opening to the season.
Second-placed St Etienne travel to Nice on Sunday, with the league's top striker Dimitri Payet in fine form, having set up two goals in France's 2-0 wins over Romania and Luxembourg in their Euro 2012 qualifiers.
"Whether you want it or not, the solution will come from the players we have right now because there will be no recruitment," he told them.
"We have to stick together, it's part of our values."
"Our position in the standings worries me, but what worries me more is the behaviour," Martel, a local entrepeneur who took charge in 1988, told a press conference.
"They were punished," Martel said without elaborating. "But they are good guys."
"We were always able to weather storms, even if it was painful," said Martel. "We will go though it together. We cannot write the word 'solidarity' off the RC Lens's dictionary."
Lyon, French champions from 2002-08, bounced back from back-to-back defeats when they prevailed at Nancy in the previous round of matches and will rely on Yoann Gourcuff's form to continue their recovery.
"Matches against Lyon are always tense and full of suspense," Lille midfielder Florent Balmont, who played for Lyon in the 2002/03 season, told his club's
