How do you solve this problem, then Martinez?

Wigan find themselves in a precarious position at present. Sitting just one place above the relegation zone, they have been struggling for consistency since the opening day of the season when they were thumped at home 4-0 and 6-0 by Blackpool and Chelsea respectively, only to go and beat Tottenham at White Hart Lane the next week.

Perhaps consistency is one of the things you can't expect when labelled with such a strong reputation as a selling club. If players consider themselves to be constantly sitting in the shop window rather than trying to lay down the foundations of a career, such fluctuations in performance are somewhat understandable. With players such as Wilson Palacios, Emile Heskey, Antonio Valencia and Pascal Chimbonda using the club as a stepping stone to bigger and better things in recent seasons, Wigan find it difficult to keep hold of genuine quality. Anyone thinking about placing a Premier League bet on them staying up should bear this in mind.

Without these players, it's understandable that they have the lowest average Premier League attendances - their win against West Brom last week was only watched by a shade over 16,000 spectators. Fair enough, it's a rugby town, but something needs to be done to reverse this if they are to have a top-flight future.

However, their most pressing immediate problem is in front of goal. With a return of just ten goals from their thirteen league fixtures, it is surprising to see them as far up the table as they are. It's the lowest total in the league and unless Martinez makes a signing or two in January to take the pressure off Charles N'Zogbia and Hugo Rodellaga, it could prove to be their undoing. The football betting already suggests they'll struggle, but they'll have even less chance without their top men.

With an upcoming League Cup quarter final tie against Arsenal fast approaching - a distraction they could arguably do without given both their own league position and the strength of the Gunners in the competition in recent seasons - they are facing a make-or-break stage of their season. In the league Manchester United are next up for the Latics, followed by West Ham and Stoke, and much could hinge on their ability to take at least five points from these three fixtures.