Wigan chairman offers Martinez hope
Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan says Roberto Martinez will be given the time to correct the club's poor start to the Premier League season.
Wigan lost their opening game of the season 4-0 at home to Blackpool. They were then promptly thrashed again in front of their own fans as Chelsea beat them 6-0 at the JJB Stadium.
Whelan says that he knew the club were always in for a tough start to the season but it's important not to cave in to the reaction of fans who are now calling for the manager to go.
There are two sides to this argument and there are benefits to Martinez staying on and leaving the club. It's important that they can quickly change their fortunes or they could be chasing survival for the whole season.
Should he stay or go
Martinez arrived at the club with a good reputation from Swansea City. He took Swansea into the Championship with ease and then consolidated the club in the second tier of English football.
This clearly shows that he has what it takes to manage and run a football club at the highest level and a club that has ambition. He turned some Swansea players into Premier League stars, which also proves he has great man management skills.
However, the Premier League is quite a step up from the Championship and a lot of people have said all along that the Championship is Martinez's level. The club may not realise this until it is far too late for them to do anything about it.
Whelan said: "When I saw the fixtures I thought we were in for a difficult start because Burnley beat Man Utd last season and I said to Roberto, Blackpool would be on fire. We played well first half on Saturday and let it fade away. We know we're in for a fight this season."
A quick turn around
A quick turn around is needed at Wigan if Martinez does not want a losing feeling to become a familiarity around the club. This means doing whatever it takes to get some points on the board and cleaning up the leaking of goals.
This will give Wigan a base to work from because at the moment they have very little to be positive about. The second they get a point on the board is the second that attitudes can start to change because Martinez will have something to work with.
Whelan added: "Roberto is a very good manager. We've had a tough start and not had the best of luck. Roberto is working for the long term. When you lose against Blackpool and play poorly, you get letters from fans saying sack the manager. But Roberto is here for the long term."
Betting advice
It is a little too early to say that Wigan are going to be one of the three teams that go down to the Championship by the end of the season. However, right now things are not looking great.
Take one game at a time and look for signs that Wigan are getting better. At the moment they are going to lose against any side that has half an ounce of quality but they have the players needed to scrap and scrape for that first Premier League point against a weaker side.
Utilise any strong players the club possesses. There is still uncertainty over the future of Charles N'Zogbia but he is one player who can score against any club for this Wigan team. Back him to do so if he is not playing for a new club by the end of August.
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