Roberto Martinez hails ‘amazing result for little Wigan’ as they avoid Premier League relegation on final day

Roberto Martinez, Wigan Athletic

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Wigan manager Roberto Martinez heaped praise on his side after their 1-0 win over Stoke City  secured Premier League football for another season at the DW Stadium.

The Lancashire side had seemed doomed last weekend when they trailed 2-0 to West Ham at half-time, but having won that game 3-2, they continued to seize upon their lifeline as Hugo Rodallega’s late header ensured victory at the Britannia Stadium and another season in the Premier League.

“It’s an amazing result for the club,” Martinez told Sky Sports. “We had to defend a lot in the first half, but we got the goal and I’m so proud of my players today.

“They are a young group but showed bravery and defended when they needed to against a strong Stoke side and they got what they deserved with this win.

“It’s been a hard season, the hardest in the Premier League for a long time, no one derserved to go down but for little Wigan it’s amazing”.

Hugo Rodallega’s second-half header was enough to seperate the sides on a roller-coaster of a day that saw the five clubs who could be relegated swap places all afternoon but Martinez remained calm and kept to his tactics throughout the 90 minutes.

The Spanish gaffer added: “There was a spell that we were in the bottom three, when we needed a goal, then we didn’t but we stuck to our gameplan, kept a clean sheet and you can see the hard work that’s been put in over the last 10 months – especially in the last two games.”