Rob's pat on back for battlers
Roberto Martinez hailed the character of his players after Latics exorcised the demons of White Hart Lane.
The Wigan boss made only one change to the side humiliated at Tottenham only six days previous – Maynor Figueroa returning after injury – and was rewarded by a backs-to-the-wall display that saw off high-flying Sunderland 1-0.
Martinez told the Evening Post: "Last week wasn't a normal defeat, and there were many aspects that we needed to put right.
"There was a feeling among the players that they needed that second chance, and we did that by only bringing Maynor back.
"In situations like this, it is very important to allow players to put things right themselves, and they did that.
"The performance of the players on the pitch told you everything – they were desperate to play.
"The togetherness and the feeling around the stadium was fantastic, and that's how you face adversity.
"I said before, humiliation is not what happened last weekend – humiliation is not finding the answers when it goes wrong. We faced that adversity and got the win."
A touch of class from Hugo Rodallega with 15 minutes remaining was enough to seal the points for Wigan.
But Martinez felt fellow striker Jason Scotland was equally deserving of a pat on the back.
Martinez said: "Jason was very unlucky to hit the post, and Michael Turner and Paulo Da Silva had to work very, very hard to stop him.
"As the game went on there was a lot of space opening up in front of their defence and we made the decision to move Hugo into that central role to take advantage.
"Hugo deserved his goal. He works so hard for the team and has a magical touch.
"He got the reward that the whole team deserved.
"This game was such a critical moment after last weekend – they way we lost was a real test of character.
"But the way we responded showed how we've improved, and we're a better side now than before the game."
Martinez also heaped praise on his back four that barely afforded Sunderland a single sight of Chris Kirkland's goal.
He said: "Sunderland were probably at the peak moment of their season, having beaten Arsenal last weekend, and their confidence was very high.
"We wanted to stop them playing, stop them creating chances – and we did.
"We showed a lot of responsibility from set-pieces at the back, concentrated and took up some great starting positions.
"They've got such a big threat up front, and to limit them to one shot on target shows the hard work we put in."
Latics will face fellow Premier League outfit Hull City in the third round of the FA Cup after yesterday's draw at Wembley.
The tie, which will mean a return to Wigan for Jimmy Bullard and Kevin Kilbane, will take place on the weekend of January 2.
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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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