Martinez looks at positives
Roberto Martinez admitted the safe return of Erik Edman was just one of many positives to be gleaned from the 1-1 draw with Fulham.
The Swedish left-back – making his first Premier League start for 20 months – showed no signs of ring rust before making way for Scott Sinclair in the closing stages as Latics pushed for a winner.
And, although Latics could not quite manage to convert their possession, territory and chances into something more tangible, Martinez acknowledged the result was the only downside of an
otherwise positive afternoon.
"The result was not what we wanted, but overall I was delighted with how we played," the Wigan boss said.
"And Erik's return was a great bonus for us.
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"He has been working very hard behind the scenes, and his play showed that he was ready to return.
"Mentally he is very strong, and we just had to protect him a little bit.But I was very pleased to see him back on the pitch and enjoying his football."
Despite Edman being the only change, Latics looked a completely different side from that which capitulated at Portsmouth last weekend.
And Martinez was both delighted with and proud of the response from every one of his players.
"The performance as a whole was what was needed," he said.
"You are still looking at the performance at this stage of the season.
"You could get three points with a bit of luck, but that could give you the wrong impression.
"I was looking for a reaction after what happened last weekend at Portsmouth, and I got it with the composure we showed and the amount of chances we created."
After Emmerson Boyce's early opener was cancelled out by a Clint Dempsey penalty, Latics fashioned several chances to seal the points only to be repelled by Cottagers goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.
And Martinez observed: "For Mark Schwarzer to have been the man of the match, that shows you how well we played.
"Fulham are a well-organised side, but we knew they had huge demands in travelling to Roma in midweek, and that they would probably try to be a little negative and hit us on the counter.
"That is always dangerous, and you can get frustrated. But I thought we took responsibility, we got on the ball, we were patient when we had to be, and we created enough chances to have won the game.
"With the way Fulham play, and their two banks of four, we had to use the full width of the pitch and try to create one-on-one situations in wide areas.
"We did that really well, which is why we created so many chances. We were in control of the game and we were opening up Fulham at will.
"I always had the feeling that we only needed one bit of magic, or a good decision – but Mark Schwarzer wasn't going to allow that."
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Weather for Wigan
Thursday 02 September 2010
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 8 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 20 C
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Wind direction: South east
