Planet Swans ArchivesAs Martinez prepares to face his former club in the Carling Cup he spoke out of his pride at the continued growth of the club since he departed for Wigan in the summer of 2009.
The first question though was more around whether he was responsible for the impressive brand of football that the club now playu
“That’s not for me to say,” he told the Evening Post .
“If other people want to think that or say that then that is one thing, but it is not up to me to come out and say something like that.
“What I would say is that when we were in charge at Swansea, we knew in the short term that we needed to win football games and to get promoted.
“We did that and we broke many records along the way, but the most important thing was to implement a very clear style of football and to build a squad which was young enough to challenge for the next five or six years.
“It fills me with pride now to see the squad continuing to grow and enjoying their football.
“I don’t know Brendan well, but I think we connected after that game,” Martinez adds.
“We think about many things in football the same way and I have been very impressed with everything about him.
“He is a gentleman, and nowadays you don’t see many of them.
“He has got the whole football club pulling together and they have made a very strong start.
“They are getting results, but also the image of the team is very good.
“I hope that continues and I wish Brendan well. I hope he is going to be successful.
“I have seen Swansea this season (in the 3-2 win at Watford) and that dressing room has got something special. The core players are unique. They believe in the style they are playing and they have mastered it.” That style stems back to Martinez, who these days is trying to get Wigan to look good while landing victories.
“Both sides will want to win the game by playing attractive football, so tonight’s game should be great to watch,” Martinez points out.
“I don’t think the fact that the teams are a division apart will count for anything.
“Who goes through to the next round will come down to the very small things.
“We didn’t have a good start in terms of results, but slowly we are improving and it’s good to see that progression,” Martinez continues.
“It is a bit like Swansea in that we needed to work on the squad when we took over.
“There it took two transfer windows, here we have had three and now we are starting to have a squad which can work well.”
Staying in the top division — they are 15th after a weekend draw with Bolton — will once again be Wigan’s priority in 2010-11, but further progression in the cup would be welcome.
“In a way I don’t want to play Swansea because ideally I would like both clubs to go as far as they can,” says Martinez.
“It was always going to happen sooner or later but, when the teams came out of the hat, it was more than a cup draw for me.
“It’s a special game.”
