The trip to the Britannia Stadium to face Stoke will be the Latics' first since Hugo Rodallega's late goal earned a 1-0 win on the final day of the campaign to keep the club in the Premier League. Wigan had been in the bottom three for much of the latter half of the season before clawing their way out, and another win could set them on their way to achieving the same outcome. Martinez said: "For us it's a great moment to look back at what we achieved last season at the Britannia Stadium. In many ways we won our title and it will be great for our fans and everyone connected to our club to have the chance to relive those memories." The Spaniard is under no illusions, though, about what a tough task it will be to engineer a repeat against a side who sit comfortably in the top 10 despite the challenges of a first season of Europa League football. Wigan, meanwhile, go into the game on the back of a 5-0 defeat against Manchester United, ending a run of eight points from five games, including clashes with Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. Martinez is a big fan of the job his opposite number Tony Pulis has done in the Potteries. He said: "Full credit to Stoke. They're getting stronger and stronger, they're having real good success, they're getting financially more powerful and we all know they can score from nothing. "They are the kings of the dead ball, but on top of that they're very well organised, they defend really well and they've got real quality going forward. "They've got a real unity with their fans, they create a great atmosphere and when you go to the Britannia Stadium you know you have to be perfect. "Looking at Stoke as a football club, from their training facilities and the manner they set strong foundations to their progression in the league. "They've been consistently strong at home, they found a winning formula for themselves in the way they play and then to bring European success to the Britannia Stadium is a fantastic example for any other football club. "They've been building on their own success, that allowed them to have more funds and attract players of the calibre of Wilson Palacios, Peter Crouch, and so on. "European football is something we would love to aim for one day and they're a great example for clubs like ours." Stoke's success has caused many fans to think, 'if they can do it, then so can we', but Martinez stressed it must be a case of slowly does it at the DW Stadium. "We need to develop step by step," he said. "I've been very pleased that we've achieved the off-the-field targets we had in terms of getting our training ground and trying to develop that, and that's going to help us towards the future. "On the pitch we've seen time after time that with good planning and being creative you can have a strong squad, and that's what we need. The age group we've got now is very good and that allows you to plan for the future. "The goal should be getting out of that fight to avoid relegation without forgetting where we've been in the last 10 or 15 years. I feel we are in a very strong position, probably financially the strongest we have ever been."
