Martinez: Team starting to take some steps

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez believes his side are at a crucial stage in their development and is keen to kick on.

The Latics have spent the latter part of the last two seasons battling with relegation, but Martinez is confident he now has the quality in his side to achieve more, especially in the wake of Tuesday's impressive 4-1 win over West Ham in the Capital One Cup. Wigan travel to the Stadium of Light with only four points and one win to show from their opening five fixtures, but Martinez thinks his side is on an upward curve. "Looking at the ending of last season, in the last nine games and the last nine performances we were very consistent," Martinez said. "We reached a very good level so we know that we've got it. Now it's just a matter of producing it at the early stages of the season. "I feel that this start of the season has been good, probably in terms of the winning mentality or knowing you can get a result out of a good performance."