Whelan is very close to the Spaniard, who earlier this year snubbed the chance to join Aston Villa to remain with Latics. But Wigan currently sit bottom of the table, and the pressure is mounting on both chairman and manager. "I've sacked a few managers here and I had a run where I sacked two within six months or so," said Whelan in the Daily Mirror. "Everything comes down to what's in the best interests of the football club. Personalities don't come into it. "What you want is the club being run properly from top to bottom, and Roberto does that. "Our confidence is in him and if there's any man who could bring our club back up that league, it's Roberto. "If I thought for one moment that by sacking him I could keep Wigan in the Premier League, I'd do it tomorrow, without question, because I only want what's best for Wigan. "But I know that would be the wrong thing to do." Martinez, meanwhile, insists that he has no plans to walk away from the job. "In life you have to have that fighting spirit," he said. "You have to have that resilience, it is something which Wigan are probably the biggest example in world football, because, to have seven years in this league, is not a coincidence. "To face adversity as a club is probably our biggest strength. I don't want to be in a position where we have five points. But no, I won't walk away. The run of bad results is just a stat, it does not concern me."
