Martinez: We don't have to sell

Published May. 24, 2011 3:15 p.m. ET

foxsports

After watching his side secure top-flight survival with a 1-0 win at Stoke on Sunday, the Spaniard has already started work on planning his squad for next season. It remains to be seen, though, if the likes of Sunday's hero Hugo Rodallega, winger Charles N'Zogbia and midfielder Mohamed Diame will all remain at the DW Stadium for another campaign. Rodallega and N'Zogbia in particular have long been linked with moves away from the Lancashire club, while Senegal international Diame last week admitted he would find it hard to snub a move to potential suitors Sevilla. But Martinez is adamant that chairman Dave Whelan has not told him he has to sell anyone, and that he will decide who comes and goes. "Every individual is different, but we don't have to sell and that's very strong," he said on Tuesday. "You get certain players that feel they need a new challenge and other clubs can offer that at a specific moment of their career, offer you something else in terms of a playing challenge. It's impossible to stop that. "But the club will dictate. We are in a position where things and the timings have to be right for Wigan. "It would be foolish for me to say that we're going to keep all the players. I don't even know if the best clubs in the world can say that. We've seen that. But whatever happens, we need to finish with a stronger squad than we had this season." Diame joined Wigan from Rayo Vallecano and was one of Martinez's first signings after he arrived from Swansea in 2009. The France-born player has emerged as a key cog in Martinez's side, and rather than allowing him to move back to Spain, Martinez is hopeful of tying him to a new, improved deal. He said: "It wouldn't surprise me if he was attracting interest. I think Momo had a very good impact in the second division in Spain (with Vallecano) and I think a lot of clubs were thinking about Momo and didn't take the chance. "If you look at the two seasons he's had with us, he hasn't surprised me at all. Momo is a very important player for us and we're looking to build something special over the next few seasons and Momo is a big part of that plan. "We're hoping we can sit down and extend his contract more than listen to offers for him." Having looked certain to be relegated to the Championship at one stage, Wigan left it as late as possible to retain their place in the Premier League, winning their last two games to pull off a great escape. And although he always maintained calmness throughout that time, Martinez is now happy to admit he did have some concerns. "The last few weeks have been really difficult," he said. "We had to be open-minded about how we'd do pre-season and the new season as we didn't know what competition we'd be in. "It's a great feeling but we're back to work now and we don't realise how much work we have to do now that we'd put to one side."