Whelan insists Martinez still right man for Wigan
Wigan chairman Dave Whelan insists his strong relationship with Roberto Martinez means the Spaniard is still the right man to manage the Premier League club despite his flirtations with Liverpool and Aston Villa. Martinez met Liverpool's principal owner John Henry in Miami last week to discuss the Anfield vacancy and was the bookmakers' favourite for the post. The Wigan boss was unable to agree a deal with Liverpool, who have since turned to Swansea chief Brendan Rodgers, but he also spoke to Aston Villa about their managerial position for a second successive year. Norwich's Paul Lambert now appears the leading candidate for the Villa job and it seems Martinez will remain at the DW Stadium after Whelan agreed to certain requests from the Spaniard for improvements behind the scenes. Despite a stressful few weeks, Whelan is adamant Martinez's movements have not affected their relationship. "I gave him permission to talk to Liverpool and I think he seriously considered it," Whelan told talkSPORT. "I think he spoke to Villa, or I think they had conversations with an agent about it. "I have known Roberto for years since I signed him as a player and we have a fantastic working relationship - I trust him and he trusts me implicitly. "Roberto has asked for certain things. He doesn't ask for money for himself, he wants the players and youngsters to have better facilities. "We have to put an indoor pitch in so we may as well put a full-size one in and that will cost £1.5 million. "There are other things we have to do to comply with the regulations and Roberto is mad-keen to do that and I support him in it." Whelan also revealed he plans to offer Martinez a contract extension to reward him for remaining with the club after masterminding a successful fight against relegation, which included impressive wins over Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle. "He's got two years left on his current contract and we will be looking to extend that," Whelan told Sky Sports News. "We're just so pleased that he's staying with us for another season."
