Roberto Martinez is the Manager of Wigan Athletic. Following the departure of Gerard Houllier Martinez was linked with a move to Aston Villa during the summer, but despite being tempted he showed tremendous loyalty sticking with Wigan and signing a new contract.

Profile

Martinez had done an excellent job in charge of Swansea in the Championship which alerted Athletic Chairman Dave Whelan when Bruce jumped ship. Martinez of course had a long spell at Wigan in the 90′s as a player and was a popular player with the fans which meant he was the outstanding candidate when the vacancy became available.

Martinez got his first job in Management at Swansea City in 2007 and promptly led them to the League 1 title at the first attempt to lead the Swans back into the 2nd tier of English football. Swansea also performed well once in the Championship with some excellent performances leading them to a top half finish in their first season in the league which is no mean feat. That success attracting the interest from bigger clubs and when Steve Bruce left Wigan, Roberto Martinez was at the top of the list to replace him.

Job Security

Wigan have a supportive Chairman in Dave Whelan who clearly loves the club and has backed Martinez both on and off the pitch. Martinez likes to get his teams playing in his native Spanish style with passing football the order of the day and it will be no different this upcoming season as he looks to bounce back from last year where the club narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League.

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