The 19-year-old stood out in the 3-2 win at Hull with a performance full of energy and desire, and his delight was obvious as he curled in his first senior goal in the 56th minute. Not since now Everton and England full-back Baines came through the Latics ranks a decade ago have Wigan produced a quality Premier League player, but Martinez believes McManaman may be about to change that. The Spaniard said: "Since the first time he participated this season against Arsenal in the League Cup, straight away you could see he is desperate to be on the football pitch. "And in his first full game he showed a little bit of everything; a real magic touch, really hard work, real quality and a street-wise talent that is really rare to see. "We're extremely pleased to have a player that has come through the youth set-up. Since Leighton Baines came into the first team we haven't had another youngster and I think it's important we try to give them opportunities because it's a real sign for the future of Wigan." Martinez took his chance to rest most of the players who served him in the Premier League over the hectic festive period, with only three players keeping their places from the 1-1 draw with Bolton in midweek. The Wigan boss felt he had little choice after Tom Cleverley was ruled out for up to a month with a hamstring injury, and he was delighted to see his fringe players stake their claim. "Unfortunately we lost Tom Cleverley on Wednesday and, looking back, that was a real gamble," he said. "We weren't prepared to gamble with other players, we can't afford to do that. "We knew that Hull, playing at home, they've got a very exciting squad, it was going to be a very difficult game but it's important for us to find out about the players in the squad and the ones that are prepared to help the team to win football games in the Premier League. "I felt we found at least three players who are going to be working from now until the end of the season. Everyone who's on the football pitch is allowing himself to be selected for the next game and that's competition we need." Although Martinez refused to name names, the player who caught the eye most along with McManaman was undoubtedly Daniel De Ridder, a player most Wigan fans may have forgotten was still at the club. Indeed, the 26-year-old was making his first Latics appearance since May 2009 after a spell away from the club with Hapoel Tel Aviv but he quickly found his stride and fought a personal battle with Hull keeper Matt Duke for much of the game. Martinez continued: "It's been difficult for Daniel. He's had a couple of trial periods with other clubs but in the last few weeks he's really worked hard in training and he deserved the opportunity. "On the ball he worked hard, he always looked a threat and he's given himself a good opportunity to carry on helping the team from now until the end of the season."
