West Ham must beat us to survive, says Wigan's Roberto Martinez

09 May 2011 01:42
ShareRoberto Martinez believes next week's game against West Ham is not make or break for Wigan Athletic. [LNB]The Latics' boss began the build up to the relegation tussle at the DW Stadium by saying that it is not the be all as far as he is concerned. [LNB]Anything less than three points for the Hammers could end their survival campaign. But Martinez believes the onus is on Avram Grant's team to take the points. [LNB] King Charles: N'Zogbia (second left) put Wigan into the lead against Villa[LNB]Fighting spirit? Wigan stood their ground at Villa Park, but should have seized all the pointsas Villa were way off the pace. [LNB]'It goes without saying that it is a massive game,' he said, 'but I'm not sure it is decisive for us. [LNB]'Having said that, it's a cup final within a league and it's certainly exciting. [LNB]'But I think we possibly need four points out of six and we still have to go to Stoke City on the final day. [LNB]'I think 40 points will be safety this season. That's what we are working towards. And we have two matches to achieve that target.'[LNB] Pegged back: Villa's Ashley Young (centre left) denied Wigan a win[LNB] However, Martinez believes that his players showed 'maturity,' in eking out a point that has enabled them not to view the up-coming game as 'win or bust.' [LNB]'In our last away game at Sunderland, we looked frightened,' said Martinez, 'we looked fragile and played with fear. [LNB]'That apart, I'm happy with the performances the players have shown in the past few weeks and I honestly wish the season had another 20 games to go. [LNB] Hammer blow: West Ham are bottom of the league after a draw on Saturday[LNB]'But I thought we could have won this. Without doubt, the future is bright for us. [LNB]'We were fighting for our lives at Villa, yet we still managed to produce a good level of performance. [LNB]'This is a young squad of players who are gong to get better. You are going to get sides who are relegated that don't really deserve to be, but that's the way it is.'[LNB]  Watch all the Premier League goals every week on our brilliant video playerI won't kill Robbie! Grant forgives Keane despite miss that leaves West Ham on the brinkWest Ham 1 Blackburn 1: Hammers clinging on as Keane fluffs his lines Aston Villa 1 Wigan 1: Heskey rages at ref as Latics scrape crucial point  [LNB]  Explore more:People: Roberto Martinez

Source: Daily_Mail