Wigan remain in the bottom three but Martinez took encouragement from the way his side finished, and in particular the performance of McCarthy on his return from injury. The Republic of Ireland international was making his first appearance since suffering an ankle injury in October. Martinez said: "It is quite clear why we missed him so much. Three months without James has been really damaging but it is great to see him back. "He lasted for the majority of the game and that was one pleasing aspect. "Franco di Santo also played 90 minutes as well after a long time away from it. "Franco is an outstanding talent. At his age he needs to play football and I have huge belief in him, he can achieve anything in world football. "The injury has been a real setback but when you see him out on the pitch, his energy and his hold of play is a real asset for us. "Getting players back from injury is as good as signing new players and that fills me with a lot of positivity." Argentinian forward Franco Di Santo, 21, also only returned to the line-up this month after a spell on the sidelines. Martinez is now considering whether to make any moves in the final few days of the transfer window, but he insists he will not panic buy. The Spaniard said: "We will try to do as much business as we can but what is important is bringing the right people, people who can help us. "We are aware of the challenge we have got, we have got 14 games to go and we know our target. "If we carry on performing in the manner we did here we will win more games than we lose."
