Martinez knows the rocky road to survival

7Jan 2013

Premier League

Romilly Evans looks at another fine mess Wigan have got themselves into. Can their boss engineer another great escape?

Hope dies last. And if it doesn't, its death prefigures one's certain doom. It may not be the most catchy or upbeat of adages - its Latin equivalent is yet to be found adorning any club badge - but it certainly relates to those involved in the basement battles in the murky depths of the Premier League.

Few know this gritty reality better than Roberto Martinez and Wigan Athletic. Wigan are the proverbial cellar dwellers, the hardy perennials who actually seem to flourish in an environment bereft of light. After all, relegation battles have never been the province of the fragile flower.

Martinez himself refers to his secret solution to this eternal labour of staying alive when the bullets start to fly as the "the desperation factor." Since he took the helm at the DW Stadium in 2009, the Wigan boss has perpetuated this selfish gene among his changing squad - a desire to survive and endure against the odds.

This year's campaign again has them in a familiar pickle, with 18 points secured at the season's halfway marker, only good enough for 18th position in the league. That said, they do enjoy a five-point buffer over the white and blue hoops of Reading and QPR, who by comparison are already in the seventh circle of hell. Martinez, however, says a total of 40 points is the key to safety. So the Latics still have a way to go. At least, it's a rocky road they know well.

Last term, everyone's abiding memory was of Man United's implosion over the final few weeks which let in Man City and Sergio Aguero. But the trigger to that collapse was the Red Devils' 1-0 defeat to Wigan - a result which conversely inspired another Houdini act from Martinez.

"Last season we had such a massive need to get points we couldn't afford to look who we were playing against," confessed the Spaniard. "Too many times in the past we'd played against the big clubs and that affected us. That day against United, we learned we had to play Wigan Athletic." If only Martinez could bottle the lighting and introduce it into the daily water supply.

Still, that one thing about Wigan's "desperation factor" is that if you don't see it for a while, it will assuredly return. Much like that ghoul-faced threat from the Scream slasher franchise. And Martinez has seen too many horror shows not to know what's coming next. "Our points tally is nowhere near good enough," he continued. "The fear and desperation is back and there for every home game left this season." Wigan supporters must be afraid and relieved in equal measure. For it is only when these foreboding criteria are set that their team appears to perform.

The weekend past was, of course, an FA Cup welcome break. Yet even in this arena, Wigan proved that they are a side who are all about staying alive. Outplayed for most of the game by a talented Bournemouth outfit, Martinez's men persevered to dig out a 1-1 draw. As you would expect, it wasn't a first-choice XI, with nine changes made from Wigan's previous top-flight outing. However, their manager did take the opportunity to blood some young players for the challenges ahead, including striker Angelo Henriquez, a late acquisition on loan from Old Trafford.

Henriquez, already a Chilean international at a tender 18 years, is just the sort of fearless player who could help conjure another great escape for Wigan. Couple his promise to that of Roger Espinoza, recently signed from Sporting Kansas City on a free, and the signs of one more rearguard action are encouraging. Another loan star, Ryo Miyaichi, is also returning to peak fitness. Martinez isn't done there, though, stating his desire to "bring in one more outfield player" during the January sales. "Then I would feel fully equipped to handle the second part of the season," asserted the 39-yeard-old. More than most, he knows what it takes.

The sliver lining to the Wigan's annual cloud of uncertainty is their encouraging financial figures. At 2012's year-end, the club announced a net profit of £4.3m, their first since 2006. Their turnover has increased, their wage-bill has fallen (£37m plays the £160m at Man Utd). It's another bottom line that, unlike so many of their rivals, offers the promise of a better tomorrow.

Martinez's accomplishments will always be consigned to a footnote in the annals of Premier League endeavour; the headlines and first-page copy reserved for title contenders. Nevertheless, his achievements remain the stuff of champions.

Sure, nothing changes but the seasons at the DW. And Wigan are in another demotion dog-fight - currently 2.96 to back for the drop zone. But with Martinez at the controls, Latics fans know that hope springs eternal.