Source: PA
Martinez hails Hughes
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez has praised Mark Hughes for the job he has done since stepping into Roy Hodgson's shoes at Fulham and expects to see the London outfit continue on an upward trend under the Welshman.
Hughes had a tough act to follow when he was appointed manager at Craven Cottage in July, taking over from Hodgson, who arrived in December 2007 and led the club from the brink of relegation to a record-high seventh place in the Barclays Premier League in the space of a season-and-a-half.
Fulham then reached the Europa League final in May this year before Hodgson's defection to Liverpool. Hughes picked up the baton from there and has overseen one win, six draws and two defeats from nine league fixtures so far this term.
It has been a steady start but Martinez - whose team play Fulham in the capital on Saturday - thinks the Cottagers' prospects look good with Hughes at the helm.
"I think that was probably the hardest job to take in Fulham's history if you look at the achievements Roy Hodgson had domestically and in European competition," Martinez said. "But they have changed the way they play slightly and they have bought one or two players who have given them a different dimension.
"You just feel that Fulham will take the success of the previous two or three seasons and will use that to take the team to a different level. That is full credit to Mark Hughes."
