Cook quick to make his point after stalemate

Paul Cook insisted the goalless draw against Peterborough - a third stalemate in a row at the DW - would prove to be be a point gained rather than two dropped for Wigan Athletic in the final shake-up.
Nathan Byrne reaches for the ball against PeterboroughNathan Byrne reaches for the ball against Peterborough
Nathan Byrne reaches for the ball against Peterborough

Latics huffed and puffed but couldn’t quite blow down a determined Posh rearguard, despite the second-half introduction off the bench of new-boy James Vaughan.

With second-placed Shrewsbury losing 3-1 at third-placed Blackburn, Latics actually extended their lead at the top of League One to three points.

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And it’s that fact Cook would prefer to focus on, with another game ticked off.

“Football’s a funny game, and some fans might be thinking that’s two points dropped - and it’s not,” Cook insisted.

“We’ve won at Northampton, we’ve won at Oxford, we’ve won at Wimbledon...if the results were the other way round, they’d be saying that was a good return.

“Look, we’re doing great, and this game is all about confidence.

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“Now and again, at times like this, our lads need to be told how well they’re doing.

“Our dressing room was a little bit flat at the end - and I think that’s good. I think that’s a good feeling.

“They were hurting, and I think we should let that seep in. But we are still in a great position.”

Cook also insisted he wasn’t bothered in the slightest at seeing Peterborough become the third side in succession - after Charlton and Shrewsbury - to keep a clean sheet at the DW.

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“The goals have dried up a little bit of late,” the Latics boss acknowledged.

“Scoring seven at Oxford the other week seems a lifetime away, but the reality is we’re having a great season and we need to remember that.

“You can dress things up different ways depending on where you sit.

“For me, there’s 23 other teams in this division who’d love to swap places with Wigan Athletic.

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“We’ve actually extended our lead at the top to three points - and that’s the way I like to look at it.

“When you’re at a club where you’ve set a target to win promotion, there’s certain lines you must get past.

“The first line is be a play-off team, the second line is to be promoted, and the third line is to win the league.

“You’ve got to cross each line one at a time.

“The first thing is to make sure we get enough points to make sure we’re a play-off team, and that’s our first objective.

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“There’s so much football to be played and we just have to keep going.

“We’ve come through a tough bank of fixtures of late, and Peterborough are a very strong side who carry a real attacking threat.

“I thought it was a really good advert for League One, but we’ll probably always be disappointed when we’ve not won.

“But our lads will always score goals - I’m confident about that.

“And one thing’s for sure...when they don’t score goals, we won’t desert them...staff, club, senior figures and I’m sure the fans won’t as well.”