Source: Eurosport
Martinez confident Latics are gelling
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez is starting to see signs his side are knitting together and is hopeful the 1-0 victory over West Ham means they have turned a corner.
Colombia striker Hugo Rodallega pounced on a rebound from Jason Koumas' shot to stab home in the 55th minute - just over 24 hours after landing back in England after a trans-Atlantic flight. It ended a run of three successive Barclays Premier League defeats which followed Wigan's surprise opening-day victory at Aston Villa.
Martinez brought in six players and moved on three this summer after taking over from former manager Steve Bruce in June, and with none of the new arrivals having Premier League experience he knew it would take a while for things to settle down. The Latics were unfortunate to lose to Wolves and Everton but the win over the Hammers was psychologically important, especially with a trip to Arsenal next week and a visit from Chelsea the following weekend.
"There were phases of good play with the team gelling together," said the Spaniard after his side moved up to 10th. "Slowly we are growing, slowly we are getting into that dynamic that everyone is starting to be involved in the dressing room and starting to play as a team and that is a huge sign.
"We are still growing and getting better and hopefully we will carry on improving our level of performance. Saturday was a complete performance, although it was not an outstanding performance in any department. There are little partnerships on the pitch which are starting to grow and the communication links are important.
"I think we are still in that period where we need to look behind results. Results affect the outside too much: if you win everything is fine and if you lose everything is wrong. There are aspects we need to correct but we have to be very pleased."
