Wigan may be bottom of the Premier League and favourites to be relegated after only avoiding it on the last day of last season but their well-regarded manager Roberto Martinez believes they will beat the odds and stay up.
The Spaniard - who became Wigan manager in 2009 after impressing with a two year spell in charge of Swansea - told the local newspaper the Wigan Observer that it was the them against us mentality of his squad that was their greatest strength.
However, the facts appear to be against Marinez - who has been praised for the stylish football he got Swansea and then Wigan to play - as his side are without a win in the league since early December and are on a run of three successive defeats leaving them four points shy of safety.
Martinez, though, remains defiant.
"I don't think the situation at the moment is any different from the ones we've faced in the past," said the 38-year-old former midfielder, who had spells playing for both Wigan and Swansea.
"If you listen to anyone outside Wigan, I don't think many of them have really high hopes for us.
"But I think that's probably the biggest strength we've got - that siege mentality - and we need to take advantage of that.
"We know what we have to do and we know how we are going to achieve it.
"It's just a matter of working as hard as we can to maintain our standards.
"It's always nice to have that added motivation to achieve, and it makes it sweeter when you do it.
"This club has always defied the odds and we're determined to make sure we do it again this season."
Martinez will hope that their fight for survival will be aided by bringing in some fresh faces.
Chilean international Jean Beausejour is expected to join from Birmingham City while striker Nicky Maynard is also a probable arrival from Championship outfit Bristol City.
"Discussions to finalise a transfer fee with the Premier League club are at an advanced stage," read a statement on City's website.
However, the club's talismanic Colombian international forward Hugo Rodallega, who scored the goal that kept them up on the final day of last season, has told Colombian radio that he will leave whatever their fate this season.
"My contract at Wigan runs out at the end of May and I hope this situation gets resolved - but I can already say these are my last three months with Wigan," Rodallega told Caracol Radio.
The 26-year-old - capped over 40 times by Colombia - said he was in talks with a number of sides but would not name them "out of respect for Wigan," for whom he is their record goalscorer in the Premier League with 24, but only two of which have come this term.
Source: AFP
