Wigan fear they are fighting a losing battle to keep Roberto
Martinez as their manager following an hour of talks with chairman Dave
Whelan yesterday.
Publicly, Whelan expressed hope that the Spaniard can be persuaded to stay when he makes a final decision on Monday.
But privately, the millionaire businessman is believed to be increasingly resigned to the fact that Martinez will be lured away by Everton or Stoke.
The wait goes on: Martinez will hold further talks on his future with Whelan on Monday
The 39-year-old flew back to Spain for the weekend following yesterday’s meeting with his future still hanging in the balance.
Although he has turned down offers from Liverpool and Aston Villa in the last two years, Wigan fear that the opportunity to manage a club of Everton’s stature will be too good to refuse this time.
Martinez, who lifted the FA Cup with Wigan this season but failed to save the club from relegation, is on the shortlist for the managerial vacancy at Goodison Park along with Swansea’s Michael Laudrup and FC Porto boss Vitor Pereira.
Whelan tried to put a brave face on the situation yesterday, claiming that Martinez had sought assurances over plans for Wigan’s development — and neither interest from other clubs nor a new contract were on the agenda.
‘It’s nothing to do with money or contracts, and that’s the good part of it,’ Whelan said. ‘Roberto, as usual, is up front and only interested in developing Wigan Athletic.
‘He’s asked me certain questions about our training facilities and development of our youth — generally what progress we can make. I’m very encouraged with what’s he’s asked me but I don’t want to promise Roberto things I can’t deliver on.
Chuffed with the cup: Martinez with chairman Dave Whelan after beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final
‘So I’ve asked if I can come back to him on Monday. I’ll be able to tell Roberto then what I can and can’t do in terms of what he’s asking for. The ball is back in my court a little bit.
‘I’m very encouraged because it was always, “Has another club made an offer to him?”. We don’t know that, but from the meetings I’ve had with Roberto that hasn’t come across at all.
‘Roberto is so honest he would tell me if there was anything. What comes across is that he wants to build Wigan Athletic and we want to get back in the Premier League. We’re both mad keen to do that.
'We’ve gone a long way along the path. He wants to complete it and I agree with him entirely, but I just want until Monday to think about it. Everything we do together, we’ll be friends for the rest of our lives.’
Everton will take their time before appointing a successor to David Moyes, having already interviewed internal candidates Phil Neville, Alan Stubbs and David Weir.
Pereira is understood to have held talks with the club in London on Wednesday and his agent Christophe Henrotay said: ‘There is interest in clubs around Europe for Vitor but there is also interest in Porto about extending his contract. In the next coming days, we will see what is best for him to do and we will make a decision.’
Meanwhile, Stoke are also interested in Martinez and are looking to narrow their search for Tony Pulis’s replacement down to four or five candidates.
Mark Hughes, Gus Poyet, Roberto Di Matteo and Rafael Benitez are among the contenders, but Benitez is also attracting interest from Italian side Napoli and French champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Pulis used the local paper to send a message to Stoke fans yesterday, thanking them for their support during his seven years in charge and joking that he cannot afford to take out a full-page advert like departing Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini.
Although a club statement claimed that the decision to part ways with Pulis on Tuesday was by mutual consent, the Welshman, 55, appeared to confirm that he had been sacked.
‘Despite the events of the last couple of days, my relationship with (chairman Peter Coates) remains, and I feel privileged to say that I can always call him a friend,’ said Pulis.
‘Of course I am disappointed I cannot carry on in a job I have loved. But I accept the club’s decision to move things in a different direction.
‘The journey stops here, but what a journey.’
Publicly, Whelan expressed hope that the Spaniard can be persuaded to stay when he makes a final decision on Monday.
But privately, the millionaire businessman is believed to be increasingly resigned to the fact that Martinez will be lured away by Everton or Stoke.
The wait goes on: Martinez will hold further talks on his future with Whelan on Monday
Although he has turned down offers from Liverpool and Aston Villa in the last two years, Wigan fear that the opportunity to manage a club of Everton’s stature will be too good to refuse this time.
Martinez, who lifted the FA Cup with Wigan this season but failed to save the club from relegation, is on the shortlist for the managerial vacancy at Goodison Park along with Swansea’s Michael Laudrup and FC Porto boss Vitor Pereira.
Whelan tried to put a brave face on the situation yesterday, claiming that Martinez had sought assurances over plans for Wigan’s development — and neither interest from other clubs nor a new contract were on the agenda.
‘It’s nothing to do with money or contracts, and that’s the good part of it,’ Whelan said. ‘Roberto, as usual, is up front and only interested in developing Wigan Athletic.
‘He’s asked me certain questions about our training facilities and development of our youth — generally what progress we can make. I’m very encouraged with what’s he’s asked me but I don’t want to promise Roberto things I can’t deliver on.
Chuffed with the cup: Martinez with chairman Dave Whelan after beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final
‘I’m very encouraged because it was always, “Has another club made an offer to him?”. We don’t know that, but from the meetings I’ve had with Roberto that hasn’t come across at all.
‘Roberto is so honest he would tell me if there was anything. What comes across is that he wants to build Wigan Athletic and we want to get back in the Premier League. We’re both mad keen to do that.
'We’ve gone a long way along the path. He wants to complete it and I agree with him entirely, but I just want until Monday to think about it. Everything we do together, we’ll be friends for the rest of our lives.’
Everton will take their time before appointing a successor to David Moyes, having already interviewed internal candidates Phil Neville, Alan Stubbs and David Weir.
Pereira is understood to have held talks with the club in London on Wednesday and his agent Christophe Henrotay said: ‘There is interest in clubs around Europe for Vitor but there is also interest in Porto about extending his contract. In the next coming days, we will see what is best for him to do and we will make a decision.’
Meanwhile, Stoke are also interested in Martinez and are looking to narrow their search for Tony Pulis’s replacement down to four or five candidates.
Mark Hughes, Gus Poyet, Roberto Di Matteo and Rafael Benitez are among the contenders, but Benitez is also attracting interest from Italian side Napoli and French champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Pulis used the local paper to send a message to Stoke fans yesterday, thanking them for their support during his seven years in charge and joking that he cannot afford to take out a full-page advert like departing Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini.
Although a club statement claimed that the decision to part ways with Pulis on Tuesday was by mutual consent, the Welshman, 55, appeared to confirm that he had been sacked.
‘Despite the events of the last couple of days, my relationship with (chairman Peter Coates) remains, and I feel privileged to say that I can always call him a friend,’ said Pulis.
‘Of course I am disappointed I cannot carry on in a job I have loved. But I accept the club’s decision to move things in a different direction.
‘The journey stops here, but what a journey.’
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