Martinez: Wigan battling against odds

Roberto Martinez admits Wigan will do it the hard way against Aston Villa on Saturday, given the number of absentees they have to contend with.

Martinez’s side have been battling an injury crisis for the past couple of months, and their plight has not been helped by the loss through the suspension of Hondurans Hendry Thomas and Maynor Figueroa for Saturday’s English Premier League game at DW Stadium.

Striker Victor Moses is sure to miss with a dislocated shoulder suffered in their Carling Cup quarter-final loss to Arsenal last month and Ireland winger James McCarthy is still battling back from ankle ligament damage.

“We are in the middle of a difficult situation in terms of numbers – I think we have got up to seven players that could be missing for Saturday,” Martinez said.

“We may not be in a strong position in terms of numbers, but the players are in a great frame of mind.”

“We have a lot of players missing but it gives me great pleasure that the rest of the squad is ready to cope with whatever is thrown at us.”

There was some good news this week regarding on-loan midfielder Tom Cleverley, who was thought to have cracked a rib during Saturday’s goalless draw at Everton only for scans to reveal just bruising.

“Tom is a really young man, very fit and doesn’t take too long to recover,” Martinez said.

“We hope everything goes well over the next 48 hours and it will be great news if he is available.”

Wigan will fancy their chances of taking points off Villa, who have struggled for results this term under new manager Gerard Houllier.

“It is always the same when you go into a new football club, especially when the season has already started,” Martinez said.

“It takes a little bit of time to get things as the new manager wants, but what is quite clear is that Villa have a squad that is full of experience and real talent.”

“It is just a matter of time before they click into what the manager wants and I think that is going to be reflected in the results.”

“Villa had a very good result at the weekend (a 2-1 win at home against West Brom), and we hope we can neutralise the threat they have got, especially in the wide areas.”

“If you don’t do that, Villa can really hurt you on their day.”

Captain Gary Caldwell could return for Wigan, with his brother Steven the man most likely to give way. Defenders Ronnie Stam and James McArthur should replace the banned Hondurans.