Manager Martinez shipped out underperforming summer signing Mauro Boselli on loan to Genoa earlier in the transfer window but instead of looking for a direct replacement he has opted to give 19-year-old McManaman his head. The forward scored his first goal for the club in the FA Cup win over Hull and showed further promise with a lively display in the 0-0 fourth-round draw at Bolton on Saturday. He has been restricted to a trio of substitute appearances in the Barclays Premier League and is expected to resume bench duty when the Latics visit fellow strugglers West Brom on Tuesday. But Martinez believes he can continue to be of use between now and the end of the year and is happy with his compliment of attacking options. "Callum's ready for whatever role we will give him. It's not a case of relying on Callum to stay in the Premier League. But he's ready," said Martinez. "We've also got Hugo (Rodallega), Charles (N'Zogbia), Franco (Di Santo), Victor (Moses) and Tom (Cleverley) at the club, so the forward line is very good here. "Rather than bringing in a player without any Premier League experience, to be an extra member of the squad, I feel Callum deserves that role in the squad." It has been a relatively quiet January for the club but chairman Dave Whelan said that the majority of the work has been on player retention rather than recruitment. Rodallega and James McCarthy have been linked with moves in recent weeks, while Whelan confirmed that Charles N'Zogbia was the the subject of interest. Speaking with just a handful of hours left in the window, Whelan told the Evening Post: "We want to keep our team together and our quality players at the club - and we are very happy to stay as we are. "We have had a few clubs chasing Zoggy, but Zoggy wants to stay. "We're delighted he wants to stay, and I can't see anything else happening."
