Festive fears for Martinez

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez has admitted his fears that, after studying the fixture list, Latics could face a "month of death" in December. Latics had reason to celebrate on the final day of last season as a victory over Stoke secured their Premier League survival for another year.Martinez is looking forward to the 2011/12 campaign, when their first three opponents will be promoted clubs Norwich, Swansea and Queens Park Rangers.However, things appear to get much tougher before the turn of the year with a series of games against the league's top teams in December.Wigan take on Arsenal, West Brom, Chelsea and Liverpool before travelling to champions Manchester United on Boxing Day and finishing 2011 at Stoke."December is becoming a little bit a month of death," Martinez admitted in the Daily Star Sunday."It's such a combination of fantastic teams that we'll have to face."But we're really excited about the way we finished the season and we can't wait for the opening games."Wigan's first away match of the season is against Martinez's former club Swansea, where the Spaniard spent time as both a player and a manager."I've got strong links with the club," he explained."I was one of the first foreigners to be captain and we moved to the new stadium."They were big moments and I am looking forward to it."

Source: Team_Talk