Harry Redknapp's claim that Roberto Martinez could be a future England boss was laughed off as 'an April Fool' joke by the Wigan chief.

The Spaniard is attempting to guide Wigan to Premier League safety for the fourth successive season at the DW Stadium where he has operated on a lower budget in comparison to the majority of his rival Premier League managers.

And, ahead of this weekend's match against QPR at Loftus Road on Sunday, Martinez knows a win would virtually consign the Londoners to relegation and could move his side three points clear of the drop zone depending on other results.

In the build up to the game, R's boss Redknapp has used his national newspaper column to stake Martinez's claim to be the eventual Three Lions coach at some stage in the future.

However, while he is flattered by the praise, Martinez admitted he thought it was a joke and he is too busy focusing on the fight for survival to think about England.

He told Wigan Today: "I didn't hear that - maybe it was an April Fool, I don't know.

"But seriously, when you are a manager at a Premier League club, you don't have time to think about what might be further down the line.

"There is no time to waste wondering about the future. You have to give everything you have on a daily basis to affect the present."

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