Martinez sees bright future for Wigan

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez believes his side has a bright future and has no regrets about his decision to commit his future to the club.

The Spaniard was heavily linked with the vacant Liverpool job in pre-season, but instead chose to extend his three-year stint at the DW Stadium.

With his side currently sitting level with the Reds on the Premier League table, the decision looks like it may have been a wise one, and the former Swansea boss is optimistic about the future.

“In the summer it was the end of the three-year period we agreed with the chairman (Dave Whelan), and that was the time I had to reflect and allow the chairman to reflect,” Martinez said.

“Once we sat down and I heard what he wanted to do, and he’s a very persuasive man, it was clear that we were going to get ready for the next chapter.

“Moving to the stadium in 1999 was a turning point in the club’s history and now we are working very hard to move into a new training facility, we are investing a lot in our younger group and trying to develop our own players, and we have very strong financial structures and are in a very healthy position.”

Wigan play host to West Brom on Saturday, and have the chance to string three successive league wins together for only the second time under Martinez’s stewardship.

The 39-year-old is relishing the prospect, and believes that such an achievement would be real a mark of the club’s progress.

“To get three wins in a row would be a huge achievement in this league,” he said.

“We did so in the last three matches of last season against Blackburn, Wolves and Newcastle and it represents a real change of mentality for us.

“It has always been the case that we always reached the last third of the season where we really needed those points to save us. To do so in November would be a real change – rather than having to win it’s wanting to win.

“The manner in which we achieved the previous two wins – they haven’t been accidents or lucky results, they have been deserved wins with very good performances against two good teams.”

However, the Wigan boss is under no illusions about the magnitude of the task facing his side against West Brom, who he believes are unlucky not to be sitting higher than their lofty fifth place in the league.

“West Brom is as tough a game as you are going to get, they are the in-form team in the Premier League in my eyes,” he said.

“They are fifth in the table and they have dropped a few points – conceding a 91st-minute goal against Man City and a late goal against Aston Villa, both games where they deserved more than that.

“They are very well-balanced, have kept much the same group of players together for a long time, and Steve Clarke has brought a new approach and been really successful.”