With all eyes on him at the DW at the weekend, Kirkland bounced back from the ignominy of conceding nine goals at Spurs in the best possible fashion by keeping a clean sheet as Latics overcame Sunderland.

And the Wigan boss believes the kind of bottle shown by Kirkland in the face of adversity shows he is deserving of a place on the plane for South Africa.

"No player in the Premier League has been tested the way he has
during the past week," Martinez said.

"Chris has been playing to a high standard on a regular basis, and he has proved he can cope at the highest level. I am so pleased for Chris after what happened last week. He is a better keeper than he was a week ago, and he reacted as a man.

"If England need a keeper for the World Cup, Chris showed this week that he has all the ingredients.

"He plays week in, week out for us, and I think we should let football make the decision."

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce, who managed Latics for 18 months before handing over to Martinez in the summer, is also a confirmed Kirkland fan.

"Chris, for me, would be England's No.1 goalkeeper," he said.

"When he's fit and when he's playing, for me he is the best keeper in England – without a doubt."

Although, in truth, he was relatively untested at the weekend by the below-par Black Cats, Kirkland admits he and his team-mates overcame a huge psychological barrier in responding with the win.

"It was a much different story to last week, and we've now experienced the highs and the lows of football," he said.

"Last week was extremely hard to take and it was a very tough week for all of us at the club.

"The first few days were obviously very quiet, and I think we all did a bit of soul-searching.
"It'll always be there in our minds, it'll be there forever, it'll always hurt – and it should do. It was embarrassing.

"We let everybody down, and there has been no hiding place. It has to be a turning point – because we don't want to feel like that again.
"It's been an horrendous week, and it can't happen again."

Kirkland was also keen to highlight the role play by Martinez in deflecting all of the criticism on to himself in the lead-up to the game.

"The gaffer has taken a lot of the flak off us, which is credit to him as a man and a manager," Kirkland added.

"He is extremely calm, he knows where he wants to take us, and we trust him. We have to look forward now and repay people's faith in us."