'Our fans will have big impact on Stoke outcome' says Martinez

Roberto Martinez has called on the Latics faithful to generate an intimidating atmosphere on Tuesday night when Stoke City travel to the DW Stadium.

After a solid performance against Sunderland at the weekend the gaffer believes a platform has been laid for the rest of the season, and is now looking forward to the next league battle against the Potters.

"When you look at our previous game against Stoke back in December, we stood up well to the physicality they brought to the game, did well from the dead-ball and throw-in situations and in the end we were one kick away from coming away with all three points," said Martinez.

"In football sometimes it's better to be lucky than to be good. Lately we've been very good in many areas, and sometimes not got the luck we needed."

"Playing at home we need to take the responsibility against a Stoke team who are experiencing good form at the moment. They won three excellent points against Blackburn at the weekend, and they've been picking up some important results in the last month.

"We need to use the power of our crowd and make sure that as a football club we go into the game looking at it as a cup final within the league

" These are important moments in our season that we need to be ready for, and it's about time we starting getting the points our performances deserve. The contribution from the crowd will be one of the major factors on the outcome of the game.

"Overall we know we can create chances, but we'll have to be concentrating and stay focused against the power Stoke bring to the game. If we do that we then need to enjoy our football on top.

"Everyone is getting stronger as the season progresses, obviously Chris Kirkland came through the Sunderland game and looked fantastic, and the only concern we have is over Steve Gohouri who is just a week or two off being match-fit.

"Apart from that everybody is looking good and ready for the challenge. With the introduction of Marcelo (Moreno) and Victor (Moses) the squad is looking as strong as ever and we're excited about the game."

TICKETS FOR THE VISIT OF STOKE CITY ARE ON SALE UNTIL KICK OFF. [CLICK HERE] FOR FULL TICKET INFORMATION.



The game comes at a busy time of the season, but the gaffer is delighted with the potential he has in the squad and how each player is ready to meet the challenge of the most demanding part of the campaign.

"There are huge demands of us in a short space of time. The modern game demands these kinds of intensities so it's important that we're all ready for each challenge.

"There have been a lot of changes in many departments this season, especially in the playing staff. But whenever we go somewhere, be ourselves and be brave, like we did against Sunderland, it's a great sign and a great platform to continue our work on.

"The potential at this club is huge, we have a very young average age in the squad and slowly we're starting to see that potential emerge.

"So at the moment it's very important that we pick up as many points as we can and that will allow us to achieve our aims in the future."