Roberto Martinez says Wigan Athletic fans are the best there is. Having endured a 9-1 hammering he said it is amazing that the support has been good, especially at away games.
Roberto Martinez spent the night in London last and appeared on the ‘Goal on Sunday’ show on Sky Sports. After commenting on the action of the day he went on to praise the support that his team has received this season even through what he stated was a transitional time for the Club, the players and also the backbone, the fans.
After the hammering we received at White Hart Lane it could have been very easy for the players to give in and go into a shell, but to the contrary it was the kick up the arse the players needed and with the fans support it was much easier for them to get straight back into the swing of things.
He said: “You are going to get freak moments and that was a football accident because we conceded eight goals in 40 minutes, believe me, in the Premier League to get beaten 9-1 affects you every day. Straight away it was a huge disappointment but it is one of those moments that really separates the men from the boys and in a way is a great filter to get the right characters that are really going to take the football club forward.
“We shared the disappointment together and that result brought us a lot closer together, the real characters in that dressing room came out. I watched it again, and certain clips certain players saw individually because obviously we had to correct certain aspects. But sometimes in football you have to see through results and analyse performances. I am delighted the way the players have approached the challenge because it has been a huge challenge.
“Our aim at Wigan Athletic for this season was to stay in the Premier League and to try to achieve that is a huge challenge. We lost six players that were probably fulfilling the most important roles on the pitch and to start from scratch in any league is hard, but to do it in the Premier League – which is probably the best in the world but also very ruthless – takes a lot. The standards, on a daily basis have been the reason why we’ve been able to get results and get to a position where everything is in our hands to achieve the results in the last two games. For that reason I am really pleased with the players because it hasn’t been easy in a way to try and change things around and start a new way to approach games.
“Where we’re at it’s a transitional period and we are team trying to go and win every single game. But the most important thing is that at any level, to start a new group takes time. We’re not there yet but I would say though is the fans, especially away from home, have been magnificent, we had to go through some very painful lessons this season; to go to White Hart Lane and get the scoreline we had but still get the support we have. You talk about achieving aims but sometimes the patience of the fans and their understanding makes a real difference and to be fair at West Ham, all the players felt a little bit down because we couldn’t give them a result.”
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