Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has praised the footballing philosophy of his Wigan Athletic counterpart Roberto Martinez.

United face Wigan on Saturday, just five months after the Latics recorded their first ever win over the Red Devils to severely dent their title bid.

However, Ferguson has no ill feelings from that game, instead giving Martinez credit for the style he employs at Wigan.

"They changed to playing three centre-backs last season, which is very useful for them, it suits them," said Ferguson.

"The great thing about Roberto Martinez is that his teams do play football all the time. That is great credit to him. That is one of the reasons why they have got consistency and continuity in their management.

"He turned down opportunities to speak to two or three clubs over the last few years. He has a good chairman in Dave Whelan and it could be a club on the rise."

Ferguson is expected to rest Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa for the match after the duo suffered injuries while on international duty.