Wigan manager Roberto Martinez believes the club's faith in his system and style of play is the key reason behind their dramatic upturn in form.
Manager believes faith in system is behind recent results
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez believes the club's faith in his system and style of play is the key reason behind their dramatic upturn in form.
The Latics began the season poorly, culminating in a run of eight straight defeats in the autumn that saw them sink to the foot of the Premier League.
Four defeats on the bounce in January also put to an end a brief revival over Christmas, leading many to tip the Lancashire outfit to go down.
However, the club's form has dramatically picked up in recent weeks, winning four of their last five matches, including memorable victories over Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal.
With four games remaining in the season Martinez's men are now five points clear of danger in 16th place, although 18th-placed Bolton do have two games in hand.
Throughout the season Wigan have stuck to their patient, passing style, regardless of their results
Philosophy
Martinez always believed that unerring faith in the club's philosophy was going to bring rewards, despite their poor start.
"I always believe the only way you can get out of relegation is by playing well," said the Spaniard.
"If you do not get the results, you need to find a way to win, but it is not about short-term ambition, to sneak a win here or there, because that is not going to be enough.
"The system suits our players, you have to be a bit different to get an advantage if you are brave enough to get on the ball.
"We are flexible enough to change it, and we have had to adapt in certain games.
"However, systems do not win you games, it is the attitude of the players."
Spirits
Despite the feel-good factor around the DW Stadium at present, Martinez accepts that it was hard to keep the players' spirits up when they were losing games, despite his confidence in their survival chances.
"Because we started so poorly and were in the bottom positions, it takes confidence away," he added.
"It was an uphill battle to have that belief, I want the team to be brave and arrogant on the ball.
"That takes good results, probably this week will be a very important moment in our season.
"Now is the moment to regroup, recover and make sure we approach the next four games with the same intensity."
