Sponsored by
Martinez comes out fighting
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez
ROBERTO Martinez readily acknowledges there aren’t many folk outside Wigan who haven’t already consigned Latics to the drop.
But the Spaniard aims to make the most of that siege mentality in the fight for Premier League survival.
The 3-1 defeat at QPR left Latics four points adrift of safety with 16 games remaining, and they are as skinny as 1/5 to be relegated.
Martinez, though, has been there and seen it all before.
And he is determined to make the most out of the ‘us against them’ situation that’s been created.
“I don’t think the situation at the moment is any different from the ones we’ve faced in the past,” Martinez told the Observer.
“If you listen to anyone outside Wigan, I don’t think many of them have really high hopes for us.
“But I think that’s probably the biggest strength we’ve got – that siege mentality – and we need to take advantage of that.
“We know what we have to do and we know how we are going to achieve it.
“It’s just a matter of working as hard as we can to maintain our standards.
“It’s always nice to have that added motivation to achieve, and it makes it sweeter when you do it.
“This club has always defied the odds and we’re determined to make sure we do it again this season.”
Latics have a 10-day break before their next game, a daunting trip to title-chasing Tottenham next Tuesday.
A Hugo Rodallega goal gave Latics an unexpected 1-0 victory at White Hart Lane last term, and Martinez believes the chance to rest a few weary legs and work on ironing out one or two flaws could give them a big chance of repeating the shock.
“I think the break has come at a good time for us, and it’s up to us to make the most of it,” he added.
“The weekend off allows us to work in a slightly different way ahead of a three-game spell before the next break in the schedule.
“Spurs away is one of the hardest fixtures on the list, but we have great memories of going there last season.
“It will be very difficult once again to try to contain a side that has real mobility, real pace and great deal of quality.
“But the extra time means we’ll be able to give David Jones and Antolin Alcaraz the chance to get over their injuries, as well as working on a few things with the squad.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Wigan
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 23 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
There are 3 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
wiganstar
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 12:41 PMCan someone book an appointment at a hospital for this man? Perhaps closer inspection of his mental stability?!?
benjiboy
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 04:43 PMwhat a plonker martinez is just like that other idiot plonker jones66
flyer
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 04:33 PMOutside wiga,I think most fans inside wigan have already consigned wigan fir the drop
Page 1 of 1
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.