Those placing novelty football bets should note fans at the DW Stadium hopes of their manager staying would have only been boosted today as Brendan Rodgers looks set to join Liverpool and Norwich’s Paul Lambert seems to be on his way to Aston Villa.

Martinez returned from his holiday in Barbados with the promise of investment for players from his Chairman.

Whelan said: "We're just so pleased that he's staying with us for another season. We want Roberto to be happy at Wigan and we'll be aiming to make sure we do everything to help him.”

The former ex-Swansea manager guided Wigan to 15^th place in the Premier League this campaign and took an incredible 23 points from the beginning of March which put them on top of the form table.

Whelan has always gone on record saying that his current manager will go on to a bigger club but he feels he needs to stay at the club for a few more seasons yet.

"We've discussed a lot of things and it was a productive afternoon. He's got two years left on his current contract and we will be looking to extend that. We've also agreed to build up the academy and the training facilities." He said.

The 38-year-old has been given permission to speak to Aston Villa about their vacant managers position after manager Alex McLeish was sacked earlier in the month.

Whelan has said that he didn’t feel that a move to Villa Park was ever going to be the right move for him though: "He has had some talks with Villa but he's not going to go there. Villa are a fantastic club with great fans, but I never thought they were big enough for him.

"I've said all along that I never thought he would end up there, and, fortunately for us, that's how it has turned out.

Martinez has been at the DW Stadium for three years and has taken charge 127 games. He has won 34, drawn 36 and lost 57 in his time in charge.

The Wigan boss will now turn his attention into brining new faces to the club as he looks to secure their Premier League status again next season.