Martinez: No favours from Spurs
The Spaniard is not expecting any favours from Tottenham at the DW Stadium, despite the Londoners having the glamour of a Champions League tie at Real Madrid to look forward to next Tuesday. Martinez believes Wigan will have to be at their best even if Spurs boss Harry Redknapp opts to hold certain players back ahead of the trip to the Bernabeu. Martinez said: "They have got such a wonderful squad. "I don't think they will play with 10 men! If they play with 11 they will have a great team out there. We will have to be perfect. "Nowadays these players are well used to playing a lot of games in a short period of time. "Their players have been involved at international level and they know how important it is to finish in the top four of the competition. "I don't believe you can afford to be on the football pitch and not be fully committed or think you are not 100%. I don't think that happens in football. "It is going to be two important games for Spurs and we expect a very tough game against them." Wigan boosted their chances of survival with a dramatic last-gasp win over fellow strugglers Birmingham on their last outing a fortnight ago. Beating Tottenham - a side which thrashed them 9-1 and 3-0 last season - would also earn Wigan an impressive double having won at White Hart Lane in August. Martinez added: "That would be a real achievement. "We all know the last two campaigns of Spurs, they have been phenomenal. They are making history. "We are playing Spurs in between them playing AC Milan and Real Madrid. "That shows you how far they have progressed and it is a real test for us. "They have wonderful, world-class players that can affect the game in one second. "The concentration levels are going to be really important. "But we are in a position where we cannot afford to look at the opposition. "We need to look at ourselves and reach a certain level in each game. We have to give our lives to get as many points as we can." Although bottom, Wigan are just three points off 13th and retain genuine hope despite spending most of the campaign in the relegation zone. In such a tight competition Martinez is aware that a good result against Spurs will mean little if it is not followed up by more strong performances. The former Swansea manager said: "From now until the end of the season the margins are going to be very small. "Points are going to get bigger and bigger in significance in the table. "We are looking at it as a whole. In the next eight games we need to get enough points to achieve our aim and the home fixtures are going to be very important." Wigan boast a full-strength squad and a pitch in fine condition after being relaid in February. Martinez accepts the surface will also help opponents play better football but that was not his main concern "We need to be as good as we can," he said. "The opposition are going to be very difficult to play against in whatever conditions we play in. "They are really good footballers, a very good team. We need a surface where we can be ourselves and impose ourselves on the game. "That will get the best out of the talented squad we have got. "We need to be focused on what we can do and how difficult we can make things for Spurs tomorrow. "If we allow them to impose themselves, they are very tough opposition."