Latics travel south tomorrow to face Reading in the last away game of the season and one last chance to try and stay in the hunt for a place to remain in the Championship.
With Reading sitting comfortably in the playoff spots they will hopefully have one eye on teh end of season lottery and we can get one over on them, you can but live in hope.
In the build up to the game both managers have been speaking to the media, let’s take a look at what they have been saying:
Latics boss Graham Barrow – ”Reading are probably technically the best footballing team in the league so we’ve got to respect that.
”Every fit ammunition we’ve got is travelling so we’ve got a few tough decisions to make. We’ve had a plan in the games we’ve played recently and we`ll probably follow a similar one on Saturday, but with more armour this time.
”It’s never been in our hands and even if we do take it to the last day it won’t be in our hands then.
”All we want going into the last game is to still have some sort of a chance and I think we`re better prepared for it than anybody if we can take it to that stage.”
”Ali (Al Habsi) has done really well for Reading and I noticed he was player of the year for them last season. He’s one of the best people I’ve ever met in football, great character and a really lovely man.
”He’ll be saddened by where we are in the league, I know he will, but I don’t expect any favours from him on Saturday. Let’s just hope he doesn’t have one of his better games, though.”
Reading boss Jaap Stam – ”We need to make sure that we don’t get surprised and that we are sharp and focussed from the beginning of the game.
”We need to make sure that we score that first goal and not the opposition.
”Just because we play at home against Wigan doesn’t mean we will win the game easily. It is going to be tough, they really go for it. I’ve seen that in the last couple of games they’ve played. They have made it very hard for their opposition.
”On the ball, when you give them time, they can play and you can see that. The last game we had at home against Rotherham it wasn’t the easiest. They had that sort of game plan where they score one goal and after that defend deep and try to hold on to get the three points.
”In this league everything is very close, it’s a strange competition because everybody can beat everybody. It does not mean because you are near the top of the league that you can beat the teams at the bottom very easily.”
Check out the latest PWU Podcast – Hanging On
This week we are joined in the studio by Wigan Evening Post Latics correspondent Paul Kendrick.
Yes we do fire questions at Paul, best press box food, that tweet – ha ha ha I still can’t stop laughing, the seasons woes, asking difficult questions and the $1m one, who is the new Latics manager?
We take a look back at the Cardiff game, it summed the season up in 90 minutes.
Youth players new contracts and releases.
There is a ‘Legends’ game to look forward to, oh and a trip to Reading on Saturday, party anyone?
The podcast can be listened to by clicking the embedded player below or downloaded to listen at you leisure by visiting www.buzzsprout.com
We are also available on itunes and we have an app for your tablet or mobile, just follow the instructions here
