When the likeable Spaniard came in last summer there were those who doubted he had the necessary credentials to take over from Steve Bruce. He had won plaudits at Swansea for the way his team played - and the League One title - but the Latics were tipped for relegation from the Premier League under his leadership. Martinez proved his critics wrong by helping the club avoid the drop, but that has not stopped Wigan being touted as contenders for relegation again. What people say about him or his team is not a concern for the 37-year-old and it does certainly not motivate him more. However, he admits a new season brings back all the familiar feelings associated with being manager and even a year's Premier League experience does not change that. "In general there is nothing different. You still have your concerns and the areas you want to improve within the squad, so everything overall is similar," he said. "You always get excited about the first game, you always worry about the opposition, it is exactly the same feeling. "We know what we have to improve and that is what we are focused on. "If we had pundits saying we were going to finish in the top 10, I wouldn't believe them either." Last year was always going to be a struggle as he inherited a squad which was not of his own design or preference, with a lot of hard-working but few ball-playing individuals. Over the ensuing months Martinez has shaped the squad in his own image to such an extent that of his first-choice outfield players there are only three remnants of the Bruce era - Charles N'Zogbia, Hugo Rodallega and Maynor Figueroa. In have come Estudiantes striker Mauro Boselli, Hamilton duo James McCarthy and James McArthur, other midfielders Jordi Gomez, Mohamed Diame and Victor Moses, Celtic defender Gary Caldwell and centre-halves Antolin Alcaraz and Steve Gohouri and full-back Ronnie Stam. Although the Latics boss insists he felt Wigan was 'his' team last season, the 2010-11 version bears all the typical Martinez hallmarks. The Spaniard is excited about what the group he has assembled can do in the future, after admitting he felt limited by the squad he had to work with in the previous campaign. "When you have the new squad it gives you more options," he added. "Probably I had to compromise a little bit in terms of how to play and do things because you need to be adaptable to what you have got. "Now we have certain players who will allow us to play in a different manner and a different way. "Bringing in a striker with the character of Mauro Boselli, you are buying goals with that. "There are certain players who will have a big say in the attacking third after another year in their careers and that is going to bring more mature performances out of them. "I feel we are stronger in every department, it is just a matter of getting that togetherness as a team. "We have strengthened the squad and we know it will be difficult to gel quickly. "There is only so much you can work on the training ground - now we have to work on the pitch."
