He wants the players and the supporters to show their love for Wigan Athletic and just how important his club is.
We’ve had a difficult season, perhaps the biggest so far in our history as Martinez seeks to transform the team from perennial relegation battles into something a bit more special. The green shoots are there for everyone to see.
The team has a good solid young spine running through it. The players are hungry and at the right time in their careers to offer plenty to Wigan Athletic. Roberto Martinez is a very bright young manager with and equally bright future ahead of him in the game.
Although there are still two games to go, the Latics manager invited the Wigan Athletic fans’ websites into the inner sanctum for a second time this season as he sought to give his reflection on what has been a very important season for the club.
Once again, I am sure all the supporters are very grateful to have such a forthright young manager in charge of the club who isn’t afraid to offer supporters an insight into the working of their club.
It’s taken quite some time, but once again, spread over the next four days will be the full transcript of the interview here for all to read.
Can I start with that Roberto, we have the Liverpool game, fantastic, then we have Bolton and got battered all over the park, then we had the Portsmouth game, and then the Arsenal game and won it. From a fans point of view can you see how and why that is frustrating?
Yes and no, I wouldn’t agree with you on the Portsmouth performance. This was one of the best offensive performances that we have had this season. Remember this season we have had to cope with teams that have given us the ball and we have to find the solutions to try and break them down.
And I know that you score a goal, and that opens up, or you get frustrated because you don’t score. When you look at the patterns that we had, and the chances that we had, we had twenty-five attempts in goal. I agree with you that up to then we didn’t make the right decision with the final ball.
We had two or three clear cut chances that you have to take. That is getting used to controlling the game from the first minute to the last and knowing how to win games. That is where the top four are.
The top four, they go to games knowing they are going to win. We are a young group in that respect. Apart from Paul Scharner playing in that position where he is experienced. Probably he hasn’t been in that position before. Against Portsmouth, I was very, very pleased with many aspects.
I was really frustrated with the Wolverhampton game at home, that day he put in a nothing performance. Wolves got everyone behind the ball and they had no interest in winning the game. That is what really frustrated me.
Against Portsmouth, the least we were going to get was a draw. And we only needed a good decision, a little bit of an edge, in the final third and we would have finished with five, or six.
For me that was a good progression. We have been let down by our inconsistency this season. If you take the Bolton performance away, it has been difficult for us in giving everything in a performance like that against Liverpool, and then do exactly the same the next game. Only the big clubs can do that.
You are looking at the Manchester United’s and the Liverpool’s who play game after game with the same intensity, the same winning mentality, and the same arrogance. They go out and win.
For us as a team, the Liverpool performance was our best of the season. Whatever people say, Liverpool are the best tactical team in the Premiership. The way they work and the understanding they have between them, their line-up included Gerrard, Torres, it was as strong as they can be. The way we stopped them from being effective allowed us to go on and win the game.
That was very pleasing. But mentality, the players were drained. How do you get to the top level? Through experiences. I can guarantee you we would never have beaten Arsenal in the first six months of the competition. After going two nil down, we would have gone on to four or five. All of a sudden, we change and even two goals down, we keep working knowing that one goal will make a difference. That is what we have been working towards when I mention the transitional period. We need to learn and we need to work.
If that is the case, and we are going to lose our best players this summer
Are we?!
If the rumours are true, that is all I will say, is it not like starting again?
No, no, look at the squad we have got now. If we were going to lose Rodallega, N’Zogbia, Momo Diame, James McCarthy and Maynor Figueroa, that’s where we were last season.
We lost Lee Cattermole, Wilson Palacios, Antonio Valencia, Heskey, and Zaki. That is where we were last season. Where we are now, we are in a different league.
From our point of view, it doesn’t feel like that, this season has been really, really difficult. Partly because of the inconsistency, and partly because of there seems to be a lack of will amongst the team.
As people who will be here in ten years time, even if were in the non-league that is difficult to accept. Do you understand where I am coming from with that?
My question to you would be, what do you want to achieve with Wigan Athletic? Do you want to be a side that always fights to avoid relegation, or a side that can be a surprise, or can go to the top ten and try to do a Fulham and succeed in Europe.
Fulham are the best example of it, they have struggled a little bit because of all the games but we are not looking like doing that?
I think what we have done this season, to be able to beat Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal, not just be hope or a lucky decision. Those three performances were going down to the fine details, we were the better side.
This doesn’t come as a accident or as a finding, it has been a lot of hard work. The lack of will, I wouldn’t agree. Perhaps a lack of knowledge or a lack of understanding on the pitch, I would say that. But a lack of will, the players give everything on the pitch. We probably have one player who I am not happy with his will and he will never play again for Wigan.
Where we are now and where we were ten months ago is two worlds apart. We now have certain standards on a daily basis that we will never drop. In the summer, for me, it was a shock where we were.
Some of the players that had been bought, they probably needed a fresh challenge, or they weren’t really caring about Wigan Athletic and we had to clear that.
Now you look at the amount of changes we have had in the Premiership and it is substantial. In the Premiership, you cannot get rid of players as easily as in other leagues. Where we are now, I am delighted, with the squad, and with their understanding of what it takes to play for Wigan Athletic.
There is hunger in the squad, and there is desire.
I asked you last time around how many more transfer windows you need to be entirely happy with the squad, you said two, do you stand by that?
Yes, I hope that the first one is going to be more important that the second one, but I still believe we need two windows.
Where we are now, it is easier to go into the windows. We are looking for important tricks more. Before it was like we were looking for personalities and leaders, more than the football ability. Now we have got that.
So now we can go specifically for what we need from a football point of view. We don’t want to lose anyone. But again, if we do lose anyone, we will be a better club for it, and not like in the past. We would lose someone and we had to panic, that’s not going to happen.
Have you been told funds will be available?
We all know the chairman, we will never put Wigan Athletic in a position that we can all regret. We will have to sit down and see where we are budget wise.
The budget has increased from the Premiership this season. That is why this season was so important to stay in the Premiership. Financially, it is a huge, huge difference. There are four parachute payments now, and it is an increase in the day-to-day revenue.
As I said before, the first season was going to be the hardest one, mainly because of the change of style. It was a test of the patience of the fans aswell. Sometimes they want the ball in the last third and they want it in the box.
Now we are learning to understand that we are finding the chance to score, and we are in control of that. Just that in itself is a test of patience. That is why we have been able to compete against the best teams.
I will ask the question again in a few months time if things haven’t worked out…
Good!
The last time we were here, you mentioned about Ben Watson. I think the Arsenal game, for me, he was man-of-the-match and then against West Ham he had a very good game. You said you were hoping to see something in him, my question is have you seen it and what does the future hold for Ben?
I saw the change that I wanted to see. It was a physicality. Ben technically is one of the best players we have got in the squad. He can see a pass, he has got the best switch of play and he is perfect in that side.
Where he needed a little bit of help was with the physicality. I saw that when he went to West Brom. They played Reading, away from home, and I saw that he got that straight away.
Sometimes you need that. I think Ben when he arrived at the football club had a couple of niggles and he has never been able to be physically himself. And once he had that, you could see in the game against Arsenal, he was much better.
His set piece delivery too has been a real bonus?
Yes, we have been missing that. I would have to say probably the Burnley game at home, that was the most disappointed from a set play point of view. That day we had the highest number of corners at home and we had no punch, no threat, and Ben changes that He gives us a real threat from his delivery.
We have scored three goals in the last two games from set plays from Ben Watson, and that is a huge return.
CHECK BACK TOMORROW FOR PART II