- Mobile site
- E-Newsletters
-
- News feed
- Find us on Twitter
@oxfordmail
Oxford Mail on Twitter
@oxmailjsmith
Follow our Features Editor on Twitter
@oxmailtimhughes
Music Editor Tim Hughes
@oxfordmailOUFC
Oxford United from Oxford Mail
@oxmailmacky
Food & feature writer Katherine MacAlister
- Find us on Facebook
Oxford Mail
Like and follow us on Facebook
@theoxfordmail
Follow us on Twitter
Martinez eyes completion of great escape (From Oxford Mail)
Get involved: send your photos, videos, news & views by texting OXFORD NEWS to 80360 or email us
Martinez eyes completion of great escape
7:21am Sunday 29th April 2012 in National Sport News © Press Association 2013
Roberto Martinez
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez has challenged his buoyant players to finish off the job of securing Barclays Premier League survival after moving closer to safety with a stunning 4-0 win over Newcastle at the DW Stadium.
Two early goals from Victor Moses and further strikes from Shaun Maloney and Franco Di Santo sent Wigan out of sight before half-time and ensured Martinez's men claimed another notable scalp on their march towards safety.
Martinez said: "It was huge win today and we have two more huge games against Blackburn and Wolves. This result is fantastic for the fans but if we don't achieve our aim of staying in this league then it is going to mean nothing."
Martinez reserved particular praise for Moses, who tore the Magpies defence apart in the opening stages, heading the opener past Tim Krul in the 12th minute and firing home his second two minutes later after a mistake by Fabricio Coloccini.
Martinez added: "It is a joy to see how Victor is growing at this club. He is the sort of player you'd pay money to watch and that is down to his raw talent and the manner in which he has been working and understanding the game."
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew hailed Wigan for a "brilliant" performance but denied the Latics had dealt a grievous blow to the Magpies' top four hopes, insisting: "Champions League football has not gone away from us by any stretch of the imagination."
Pardew added: "We didn't match the intensity of Wigan and in any Premier League game that is going to make you look bad. In the first 30 minutes we just didn't get a grip on them.
"It's disappointing because we talked and said the right things before kick-off about not being complacent and giving them the respect they deserved, but we got caught out by that one word - intensity.
"But I don't want to harp on too much about our disappointment because I have to say Wigan were brilliant today. In the first period they were as good as anything I've seen in any of our last seven games."
