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Wigan chairman Dave Whelan eager to find Roberto Martinez's successor
WIGAN chairman Dave Whelan has already begun in earnest the hunt to find Roberto Martinez's successor.
With Martinez closing in on a move to Everton after a £2m compensation package was agreed with Bill Kenwright last night, Whelan is desperate to get the Spaniard's successor in place soon.
A phalanx of names have been bandied around for the Wigan vacancy, including Rene Meulensteen, who recently stood down from his position as a Manchester United assistant first team coach.
Apparently roughly 30 applications have been submitted for the Wigan vacancy, and Whelan said he will start to whittle down the prospective candidates.
He said: "Roberto will be Everton manager in the next couple of days and that means we can start to interview for the position of manager of Wigan Athletic.
"We have had a lot of applications and I think we will be choosing from the people who have applied.
"There are some very good candidates among them and with the quality that is there it is going to be difficult.
"It has got to be sorted out over the next nine or 10 days. We have got to get on. The Championship starts sooner than the Premier League and we have got a lot of games."
Ex-Bolton boss Owen Coyle and MK Dons' Karl Robinson have also been linked with the Latics post.