Wigan Athletic can wash away the disappointment of a late defeat against Manchester City by picking up crucial points against West Ham United on Saturday, says Roberto Martinez.
The Latics came away from the Etihad Stadium empty-handed on Wednesday after Carlos Tevez fired home late-on, leaving the visitors in the Premier League drop zone.
But Martinez insists his team outshone Roberto Mancini’s men in every department and will pick up valuable points in their relegation battle if they play the same way at Upton Park.
“The venue is a tough one to perform in, but I’m sure it’s going to be an exciting opportunity for us to get rid of the feelings we had on Wednesday,” he told the club website.
“We might not be able to control the result on certain occasions, but we can control the level of performance we show on the day.
“The players are all desperate for this game now. We had that feeling on Wednesday night that we did everything apart from getting the rewards we deserved.
“But I thought we were ground-breaking at the Etihad Stadium and found a new way of performing against an extremely strong side.
“There’s no denying at this point in the season we need points but if we continue to perform in that manner they will come.”
Wigan will be without Roman Golobart for the trip, who is sidelined with a twisted ankle, but forward Callum McManaman could be recalled for the club’s third fixture in seven days.
And as the club battles to secure its top-flight status with six games remaining Martinez is wary of the challenges ahead for his side that has won only one of their six games on the road.
“West Ham are in a very good moment of form right now having not been beaten in their last four league games,” he said
“It’s significant they played on Wednesday because it would have been very tough for us to play at Upton Park against a team who would have had extra time to prepare.
“We all know how competitive they are, particularly at Upton Park, and I think they’ve found stability in their line-up recently to put out a really settled side
“You have the threats of Matt Jarvis on one side Ricardo Vaz Te on the other and Andy Carroll up front, so we know how dangerous they can be and we’ll have to be ready for them.”
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