Latics gaffer hoping to build

Roberto Martinez says there is little difference between his Wigan side and Saturday's opponents West Brom in terms of football philosophy. Comparisons between the two clubs are obvious, with both having young managers who like to play an attractive brand of football.However, while Wigan have managed to survive and are in their sixth successive season in the Premier League, West Brom have been the archetypal yo-yo club.But having come up from the Championship last season they are making a better job of things this time around, sitting 11th, while the Latics are currently in the bottom three.Wigan had similar difficulties last season before pulling clear late in the season and, after a number of squad changes in the summer, Martinez has started to see improvements in the last few games, culminating in Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Liverpool.And he remains faithful to his principles, insisting there is scope for clubs the size of Wigan to stay up by playing football."One thing is clear; it is important to know how you play and your style because that is for the long-term ambitions of the club but we are working for the short-term and the future," he said."It doesn't matter how you play, everything is to win. Sometimes you need to sacrifice certain results in the short term to achieve a certain level."But to say you would prefer to get relegated playing good football is wrong - I don't believe it is good football if you don't win games."In football it is about winning and being competitive on the pitch and it is important to develop a way to play which allows you to win games."West Brom had a fantastic start to the campaign and have taken the league by storm."They have a successful team with certain players entering the best moments of their careers, having added just a few in the summer."The players and manager know each other well and have been together for a long time."Promoted teams get that momentum to carry into the season and West Brom's quality of play allows them to do that."For me it is not a real surprise how well they have done."Martinez was impressed with the way his players dominated the game against Liverpool in midweek but knows they have to now build on that as a number of results have not gone their way this season.But even though Latics are currently 18th in the table, the Spaniard is not concerned."I felt the second half against Liverpool was the best performance of the season and it has left the camp full of confidence, wanting to get out there and get a win," he said."For 45 minutes we put it all together, had a great purpose and looked a real threat and the understanding we have been working on looked evident."Now is the moment to start putting it together, getting the points we deserve and it is important to get a winning run going."Being in the bottom three is sometimes a difference of one or two points and at this stage of the season that could be a referee's decision."If I was in seventh position I wouldn't be too positive and being in the bottom three doesn't affect me yet because your position in the table doesn't matter in November."But it is crucial we get a win against West Brom because we are playing at home and after that we have got two away games."Home games are the diamonds of your season and you have to look after them."

Source: Team_Talk