Roberto Martinez has shrugged off suggestions that the pitch at the DW Stadium is to blame for the season-ending injury to striker Darren Bent.
Wigan surface no worse than any other in the league, says boss
Roberto Martinez has shrugged off suggestions that the pitch at the DW Stadium is dangerous and denies it is to blame for the season-ending injury to striker Darren Bent.
The England international ruptured his ankle ligaments when he appeared to catch his studs in the turf during Aston Villa's goalless draw against the Latics on Saturday.
The ground is shared with local rugby league team Wigan Warriors, but Martinez does not believe that has made the pitch any worse than others in the Premier League and suggests it is cheap shot by those looking for excuses.
Weather
Martinz told the club's
official website: "We want a really good pitch because we base our work on what we do with the ball, and the ball needs to roll well. But the pitch is becoming a bit of an excuse for other teams.
"I think the pitch is the same for both teams, you have to adapt to it. There's nothing we can do with the weather conditions we have and obviously it's difficult for the groundstaff.
"We're trying to do our best to correct it but I don't think the pitch is to blame for the injury to Darren Bent, it's just a very unfortunate incident.
"If you look at the records it's not a pitch that players get injured on much. Unfortunately we're going to see a player out for a long spell and that's something nobody wants to see."
