You can have all the money in the world but nothing is more important to a team's success than good hard work, according to Fulham manager Roy Hodgson.

Hodgson takes his side to Wigan on Sunday looking for his fifth win of the season.

A poor start to the campaign led to relegation fears at Craven Cottage but a four-match unbeaten run in the Barclays Premier League means Hodgson's team could end the weekend in the top half of the table.

Last term Hodgson brought European football back to Craven Cottage for the first time in seven years after guiding his side to an unlikely seventh-placed finish.

He admits Fulham are unlikely to match that feat this season, thanks mainly to the summer spending sprees undertaken at rival clubs Manchester City and Tottenham.

Mark Hughes has parted with almost £120million to bring the likes of Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor to City whereas Hodgson spent most of his summer scouring the market for free transfers and cut-price deals.

He believes money does not guarantee success, however, and is glad that Fulham's form is on the up, an achievement recognised yesterday by the Premier League, who named the 62-year-old manager of the month for October on Friday.

"There's no doubt that the Barclays Premier League is getting tougher and tougher to survive in," Hodgson told the club's website.

"More and more money is being spent by the teams coming into the league and much more investment is being made than perhaps was done in the past.

"The statement that you need to invest more is probably a true one but it's nice to think that hard work and a good bunch of players who work hard for each other and the team are capable of surviving in the League."

Hodgson's own future has been a source of speculation in recent weeks after the former Inter Milan boss revealed he had turned down the opportunity to manage both Norway and Sweden.

His contract is up at the end of the season and doubts also remain about the future of Brede Hangeland, who is yet to sign a new contract in the face of public overtures from Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

Hodgson believes keeping hold of his current crop of players will be vital to his side's chances of success.

"We've got a good group of players here and it's important to keep them together," he added.

"I believe that if we can keep people fit the squad we have at the moment is capable of going through the season and doing what we would like to do with the season."

A win at the DW Stadium would be Fulham's first at the north-west club in 17 years.

Hodgson is likely to be without injured duo Andrew Johnson (shoulder) and Danny Murphy (knee) but Damien Duff (Achilles) will face Roberto Martinez's side if he passes a fitness test.

Some had questioned the appointment of the 36-year-old former Swansea manager this summer, when he replaced Steve Bruce as manager.

But victories over Chelsea and Aston Villa have gone some way to easing those fears and the Latics now sit two places beneath Fulham in the table in 13th.

Hodgson believes the Spaniard's side will prove difficult to break down this weekend.

"They are a good team and I think Steve Bruce did a good job in organising them there. He left a good legacy and Roberto Martinez has continued the good work," Hodgson said.

"We'll have to try and make sure that if they're going to beat us they're going to have to be pretty good on the day."