MANCHESTER CITY and Wigan fans face being stranded in London if the May 11 FA Cup final goes to extra-time and penalties.
The 5.15pm kick-off was introduced last season to boost TV viewers — but could leave some toiling to get the last train back to Manchester at 9pm.
Boxing legend and City fan Ricky Hatton tweeted: "Seen the kick off time for the fa cup final? 5.15pm. That's c**p."
But the Latics must put that to the back of their minds for the next three weeks and try to focus on their annual escape from the Premier League drop zone.
The financial rewards at stake are bigger than ever this year and their Spanish boss knows staying up will have a massive impact on the future of the Lancashire club.
"But you are getting to that time of the season when it's like asking a top club is it more important to win the league or the Champions League?
"But if you are asking me what it represents for a club like Wigan to win the FA Cup final or stay in the Premier League, then staying in the Premier League would make the club's next 10 years financially very stable. It would allow us to create the facilities we want and allow the club behind the scenes to go to a different level.
"But when you've the chance to win the FA Cup final, you can't disregard it and say it's not as important as staying in the league.
Martinez hailed the achievement of reaching the club's first FA Cup final but urged his players not to spoil it by getting relegated.
He added: "We're not going to hide the fact we have to achieve our aim in the league to feel we have had a successful season.
"I'm not going to deflect from that and try to hide behind the fact our FA Cup campaign has been a real success. The season will not be a success unless we achieve our aim in the league.
"To carry on reaching the targets we want to get — that's on the pitch and off the pitch — we need to stay in this league.
"It shows we are producing better players, that they are ready to play in the first team and that we are growing internally with our mentality to be able to face two competitions at the same time, but our priority is the league."
Martinez insists he has no problem with City striker Sergio Aguero facing his team tonight after the Argentine escaped a ban for his lunge on Chelsea's David Luiz in their FA Cup semi-final.
"They are only 25 miles from us. It is a Greater Manchester derby so if they didn't know us and we didn't know them, there would be something going on.
"This is the sort of season we want. There's only City, Chelsea and Wigan who are involved in two competitions at this moment.
But teetotal Martinez said: "We're happy to go game by game, put the achievement to one side, and at the end of the season when we've achieved all our targets we can have a proper celebration."
WIGAN (likely): Al Habsi; Scharner, Boyce, Alcaraz, Figueroa; Beausejour, McCarthy, Gomez; McManaman, Kone, Maloney.
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