Thanks to a new pitch the real Wigan Athletic can now stand up - and stay up

By Alan Nixon in

Published 09:04 09/03/10

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By Alan Nixon

The real Wigan Athletic are about to stand up. A new pitch, a fresh attitude and a spirit that will see them stay in the top flight.

For the past few painful months Roberto Martinez has had to watch his team falter on the worst pitch around, their football wasted in a cabbage patch of bad bounces and bobbles.

Now with a new surface at the DW Stadium there is genuine hope that the Spaniard's carefully-crafted plans may actually stand a chance of reaching fruition.

It has been difficult to watch the Premier League's youngest manager's bright ideas getting bogged down in the brown stuff. At last the green chutes of recovery have arrived.

The players loved it, their old confidence coming back as they sprayed the ball around without the fear that it would make them look like mugs.

From back to front this side can play a bit, but you would not have known in the recent past as they slid into the relegation mire.

Martinez has been trying to experiment with a new style of play this season but you cannot put those theories into practice when ball does not roll properly.

Some will say Martinez has been too interested in the practical side rather than simply going out to play the conditions and win points.

He has been asked time and again if he would go long ball and he always replies 'never.' Those kind of principles deserve a reward and he may now be able to get it without seeing those dreams buried in mud.

The way Wigan moved the ball, mixing their power with the precision that Martinez wants, only confirms that they are nothing like a bottom three side.

Thanks to the magic carpet that is their new pitch Wigan can now sit back and enjoy the ride - to safety this season and much better next time.

There are some good players in this side, Mohammed Diame a delight in midfield, young James McCarthy a growing threat and strikers Hugo Rodallega and Marcelo Moreno both interesting.

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