Roberto Martinez welcomes the praise he and his players are receiving but admits it will count for nothing if Wigan do not finish the job.
But attention is a good thing, says Wigan manager
Roberto Martinez welcomes the praise he and his players are receiving but admits it will count for nothing if Wigan do not finish the job.
The Wigan boss has guided the club to the brink of Premier League safety thanks to five wins from seven games.
But such was their precarious position before that sequence, the Latics are still just three points from safety and still have work to do against Blackburn and Wolves in the remaining two games.
And until Wigan are safe, Martinez does not want the focus to be on the club's players - or indeed the manager himself - moving elsewhere.
Talented youngsters such as James McCarthy and Victor Moses are already being touted for summer moves, while Wigan chairman Dave Whelan has said Martinez can leave for a bigger club with his blessing.
But speaking on Friday, the 38-year-old manager said: "It's not my concern at all.
"What we want is to get that attention, because in the football business, if you are a footballer and you get attention it is because you or your team are doing something well, and that's a real pleasure for everyone at Wigan Athletic so I'm not too concerned at all.
"All I want is the players to keep developing, enjoying their football, pushing Wigan close to achieving our aim and making sure everyone gets recognition from the outside.
Ambassadors
"That's something that pleases me. The players have been true ambassadors for this football club and they deserve any credit that comes their way."
Whelan has been vocal in his claims that Martinez has the ability to coach at Europe's biggest clubs.
And after spectacular recent wins against Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle, the former Swansea boss is adding more admirers all the time.
But for now he remains keen to focus on the challenge of securing Premier League survival.
"I know that we've been attracting a lot of attention from the outside because of the results but we've done nothing this season - yet," he added.
"We need to achieve staying in this division, that's all we want to do and for us to speak about individuals or what could happen is just such a dangerous field.
"We know what we have to do is concentrate on ourselves and the next two games and until May 13 that's the only thing that matters within the football club."
