Callum Lang salutes former Wigan Athletic colleague as Portsmouth party spoiled

On the day Pompey received the League One title, Tickle produced a magnificent display to keep them out for 85 minutes at Fratton Park.

By the time Kusini Yengi finally beat him, Latics were already two goals to the good, with Luke Chambers and Josh Magennis on the mark.

And that remained the only blemish on Tickle's copybook as Latics held on to prevent Pompey - whose players had been given two days off in midweek to toast their promotion - adding the icing to their cake.

"It was tough, but the main thing is we’ve won the league, the job is done," said Lang. "We would’ve liked to have got a win or a point, I thought we were going to nick one at the end, but we’re in the Championship next season, we just need to enjoy ourselves.

"We’ve gone out and celebrated like every club would. If you look at it, Chesterfield lost four in a row after winning promotion, it’s just the common thing when the league is done."You work so hard to get the job done. The main thing was to get promoted, so we can’t be too down about it, it has been a great season.

"We wanted to win the game, especially for the fans, they have been unbelievable. We returned to training on Friday and, coming into the game, we prepared how we always would, we went out there with a strong desire to win the game.

"The lads are frustrated because we’re used to winning games, we have been unbeaten for a long time - but the main job is done.

"It was a tough one, Wigan played very well in the first half, whereas in the second half we were the better side. However, we gave away sloppy goals, it was quite frustrating really."

Pinpointing Tickle for praise, Lang - speaking to The News - added: "I have played with Sam and he is a top keeper, he’s going to have an amazing career.

"At the minute they are playing with that freedom, they are safe, and when they do that they are a really good side."