Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan said manager Roberto Martinez is staying with the Premier League club.

The Spaniard was linked with moves to Liverpool and Aston Villa, but according to Whelan will stick with the Latics, having been given his chairman's word he will be backed in the transfer market. Whelan told ESPN: "Roberto is staying with us and I've agreed to his request to up our spending on youth development and training facilities.

"That's going to be pretty costly as I have agreed to a full-sized indoor pitch and that will cost £1.5 million. Roberto's very keen on that aspect of the club. I have also agreed with him to bring in three or four new players."

Martinez, linked to Villa despite rejecting an offer to manage the Midlands club at the start of last season, met Liverpool owners last week to discuss the current vacancy at Anfield.

However, Whelan told ESPN: "They set down their rules on how they saw the role and the way they wanted the team run and that was not the way Roberto would do it."