Fulham manager Mark Hughes was delighted with the manner in which his side ended their six-match winless run with a 2-0 victory over Wigan.

A first half brace from midfielder Clint Dempsey earned Fulham all three points and Hughes told BBC Sport: "This was a result waiting to happen.

"There was a real intent to our play and we were totally dominant, particularly in the first half.

"We don't have the points on the board we feel we have deserved so far."

Injuries and a lack of goals have hampered Fulham's progress since Hughes took over at Craven Cottage in the summer but he is confident results will start improving.

606: DEBATE Anybody who ever questioned whether Clint Dempsey should be starting for Fulham has probably been silenced by this point. Scott

"Some of the approach play was on a par with anything we have been able to produce this season so far. We made it very difficult for Wigan to get a foothold in the game.

"We worked the ball out wide and two good crosses produced two goals and it could have been more in that first half. Obviously after the break we expected a response from Wigan but even so they created very few chances in fairness," said Hughes.

The victory has moved Fulham up to eighth in the Premier League and Hughes thinks the table is starting to show a more accurate picture of their progress.

"We're getting to the point where things are starting to even out and get more of an idea of the level teams will think they can play at. We certainly feel we're a top 10 side given the quality we have in our team," added Hughes.

Meanwhile Wigan manager Roberto Martinez felt the midweek Carling Cup win over Swansea City had taken its toll on his players.

"I felt Tuesday's game took a lot out of us, we had a lot of knocks and niggles and we couldn't match Fulham," he told BBC Sport.

"Today we were very flat even though we made changes and we need to isolate this as a bad performance and make sure it doesn't happen again.

"We need to make sure we recharge and rest ahead of our next game on Saturday," Martinez said.

The defeat was Wigan's first in seven games and Martinez does not think they will suffer the same inconsistency as last season.

"We had two difficult games right at the start but since then we've been consistent. I don't have any complaints about today's result. Fulham deserved to win. Once they had a two-goal lead they played really well," Martinez added.

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