Dave Whelan joins the chase for Roberto Martínez

Graham Spiers: Martinez is worth the risk at Celtic

Dave Whelan, the Wigan Athletic chairman, wants a new manager in place by next week after Steve Bruce agreed to take over at Sunderland last night.

Whelan yesterday denied having drawn up a shortlist but Roberto Martínez, the highly-rated Swansea City manager who spent six years at Wigan as a player, is thought to be firmly in the frame.

Darren Ferguson, the Peterborough United manager, whose father, Sir Alex Ferguson, is a close friend of Whelan’s, is also understood to be figuring prominently in the chairman’s thoughts.

Whelan has received more than a dozen applications for the post and Paul Jewell, the former Wigan manager, is also being considered. Wigan are expected to face competition from