WIGAN fans last night kick-started a celebration which will run all week after their side defeated Manchester City 1-0 in the Budweiser FA Cup final.
However, the players who won the first major trophy in the club's 81-year history – including Gary Caldwell, Shaun Maloney, James McArthur, James McCArthy and Fraser Fyvie – headed back north on a booze-free bus, and will train this morning to begin preparations for their crucial Barclay's Premiership game against Arsenal on Tuesday.
Roberto Martinez's men lie third bottom, and the manager believes lifting the FA Cup, courtesy of Ben Watson's injury-time header, will provide the impetus to help them climb clear of danger in their final two games.
The man who is vying with Neil Lennon in the betting to become the next Everton manager is already refocused on the job he and his players still have to do this season.
But Martinez did allow himself time to savour the moment and said: "Today we saw the underdogs play with incredible bravery, incredible belief and they defied the odds again. That's the FA Cup. It's an incredible moment. At half-time, we were all really down as we thought we had played well in the first half.
"There was a feeling that maybe we had wasted our opportunity. But this group keep on fighting."
City had Pablo Zabaleta sent off for a second caution in the final minutes with the game still goalless, and Martinez admitted: "I was thinking about extra-time and how to use the extra-man advantage. It was incredible seeing the goal going in."
By contrast, City manager Roberto Mancini was in truculent mood, the final defeat adding to the pressure already on him after his side lost the Premiership title to Manchster United.
Malaga manager Manuel Pellegrini is reported to be ready to step in as his replacement, but Mancini: "I don't know why the club didn't stop this speculation because I don't think it is correct. If it is true, I'm stupid because I don't understand this."
Caldwell was invited to collect the cup, along with captain for the day Emerson Boyce, despite the fact that, just like in the semi-final win over Millwall, the Scot didn't get off the substitutes' bench. He admitted: "It's an unbelievable achievement for a club like Wigan to win a cup like this. The manner in which we won was the most impressive thing.
"We went toe-to-toe with a team that spend God knows how many millions, and, on the day, we were better, simple as that, from start to finish."
Caldwell wants this achievement to act as a catalyst for two more wins in the fight to retain their Premiership status, and said: "In our heads now, we need to win.
"The boys will be tired, but we need to focus the minds. Other boys who haven't played need to be ready, if called upon, to put in a performance similar to today. If we do that, I'm sure we'll win the last two games. We can enjoy it, but I think the celebration will be next Sunday. That will be massive, if we manage it.
"It's straight on the bus, back up the road and training. It's back to work, it had to be that way because we didn't get ourselves in as good a position as we'd have liked in the league.
"This win is a shot in the arm for us. City have some of the best players in the world, but we didn't sit in and play to negate their players. We played an expansive game and went toe to toe and came out on top. Any neutral would say we deserved to win."
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