The soft underbelly of the Latics side was on show once again as Gary Caldwell in particular had a game to forget. Bolton were made to look like a good side as Kevin Davies went largely unmarshalled.
On the positive side, it is clear what Martinez is looking to do with his team. Take the four goals out the game and the Latics dominated. However possession and chances do not win football matches.
Cut out the soft defensive errors and there is definately something to build on. Here is the reaction of the two managers.
Roberto Martinez
It's a hard result to take, and it's a difficult day for us all. We wanted to build on Monday's great win, and try to get that consistency we have been looking for all season.
But key decisions went against us and we couldn't do that. I thought there was a key moment in the third minute when Hugo Rodallega was fouled and we should have had a clear penalty.
If we had got that, it would have been a completely different game, but after that everything went against us and mentally we looked a little bit drained. We couldn't compete as well as we normally do and we have to make sure we rid ourselves of this feeling with a good performance on Tuesday night.
Last Monday was a great advert for Wigan Athletic, which we all enjoyed, and we wanted to carry that on today. The support we received from the stands was magnificent and I'm just sorry we couldn't give them anything to cheer.
The positives from today are the fact that nothing has changed from the rest of the season. We are capable of beating anyone on our day, but we just cannot find that consistency to build on what we do achieve.
In football, it's important to respond and take responsibility for bad results, and we can do that by showing a reaction on Tuesday. It will be a tough end to the season for all of the teams down there. Every win will be difficult to achieve, which makes this result so disappointing.
To beat a side like Liverpool shows what we are capable of, but we have to maintain those standards every week. Today we couldn't, and we got heavily punished. But it's about the reaction now and getting this feeling out of our bodies as soon as possible.
We know this is a big fixture for the fans and it has been a big disappointment for them, but we have to look forward now and Aston Villa on Tuesday. Four games in 12 days is a huge demand on the players, and results like this can happen.
It happened to Bolton last Tuesday, when they lost 4-0 at Sunderland, and their reaction was very, very good. We have to make sure we match that reaction against Aston Villa, and we'll be looking to get rid of this feeling as soon as we can.
Owen Coyle
There were some terrific performances but the biggest single thing for me was the three points. They were so valuable to us given our position in the league. The short term aim is to keep us in the Premier League and days like these certainly help.
Johan and Fabrice have both been outstanding for me from Day One: their effort, their energy and their desire. As manager, I have belief in them and that is why they are playing week in, week out.
I am so pleased for Johan who has worked so hard. You ask any of his team mates how valuable he is to the team. Fabrice is a young English player and I believe he has the scope to develop into a truly fantastic player.
We are certainly not safe yet, that's for sure. We've got a great result today but we've still got some points to pick up to make sure that we are a Premier League club next year. We've got a tough period of games coming up so we are going to have to be at our best but we are capable of picking up points in those games.
The supporters were absolutely fantastic as they have been since I came here. I would urge them to keep on coming and bring their pals because they have a big role to play. You can see how much their support meant to the players today and always.
The table
| Latest match Sunday, 14th March 2010 |
Pld | Home | Away | Overall | Pts | GD | |||||||||||||||||
| W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | |||||||||
| 1 | Manchester United | 30 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 42 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 28 | 16 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 70 | 24 | 66 | +46 | ||||
| 2 | Chelsea | 29 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 45 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 14 | 20 | 4 | 5 | 69 | 27 | 64 | +42 | ||||
| 3 | Arsenal | 30 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 41 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 30 | 18 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 71 | 33 | 64 | +38 | ||||
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 29 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 33 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 53 | 28 | 52 | +25 | ||||
| 5 | Manchester City | 28 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 30 | 14 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 23 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 53 | 36 | 50 | +17 | ||||
| 6 | Liverpool | 29 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 33 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 14 | 6 | 9 | 45 | 29 | 48 | +16 | ||||
| 7 | Aston Villa | 27 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 23 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 37 | 21 | 46 | +16 | ||||
| 8 | Birmingham City | 29 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 15 | 21 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 30 | 31 | 44 | -1 | ||||
| 9 | Everton | 29 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 28 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 18 | 24 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 46 | 42 | 42 | +4 | ||||
| 10 | Fulham | 29 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 21 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 23 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 32 | 32 | 38 | 0 | ||||
| 11 | Stoke City | 29 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 20 | 17 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 28 | 33 | 36 | -5 | ||||
| 12 | Blackburn Rovers | 29 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 36 | 9 | 7 | 13 | 31 | 48 | 34 | -17 | ||||
| 13 | Bolton Wanderers | 30 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 31 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 36 | 54 | 32 | -18 | ||||
| 14 | Sunderland | 29 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 24 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 30 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 37 | 45 | 31 | -8 | ||||
| 15 | Wigan Athletic | 29 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 15 | 39 | 7 | 7 | 15 | 27 | 57 | 28 | -30 | ||||
| 16 | West Ham United | 29 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 24 | 22 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 27 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 37 | 49 | 27 | -12 | ||||
| 17 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 29 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 27 | 7 | 6 | 16 | 23 | 47 | 27 | -24 | ||||
| 18 | Burnley | 30 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 20 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 11 | 46 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 31 | 63 | 24 | -32 | ||||
| 19 | Hull City | 29 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 19 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 39 | 5 | 9 | 15 | 27 | 61 | 24 | -34 | ||||
| 20 | Portsmouth | 28 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 17 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 19 | 24 | 47 | 19 | -23 | ||||
Next game
Thankfully the Latics return to the lovely new pitch at the DW Stadium and a chance to get changed from the horrible Orange kit that never yields a good away performance. Aston Villa are the visitors on Tuesday as Martinez attempts to get his team back on track.
