GARY Caldwell has called on Wigan Athletic to end seven months of misery against Liverpool this weekend.
Latics moved out of the bottom three after the convincing 3-0 victory at Reading.
It was Wigan’s fourth away win in the Premier League – and their NINTH in total on the road this term, after two away wins in the Capital One Cup and three in the FA Cup.
All four of those league wins were built on the back of clean sheets, with Aston Villa, Spurs and Southampton all failing to beat Ali Al Habsi.
But at home it’s been a different story, with Latics still waiting for their first clean sheet at the DW.
They’ve shipped 27 goals from their 13 home games to date – and Caldwell insists that must improve if they are to build on the morale-boosting win at the Madejski.
“It was a great performance at Reading, but the clean sheet was important in terms of confidence both for the defence and for Ali,” Caldwell told the Evening Post.
“For that reason we probably didn’t commit as many men forward as we may have done in the latter stages, and settled for the three goals when they were possibly more there for us.
“We had a good discussion over in Tenerife the other week about the goals we’d been letting in, and the need to defend from the front as a whole team.
“I thought the front men and the midfield were outstanding in terms of protecting us from their attack, and it gave us that platform to be solid from.
“The clean sheet was well-earned and should be shared throughout the whole team.”
Latics have won both of their matches since returning from a warm-weather training camp in the Canary Islands, by a combined margin of 7-1.
And the skipper insists the short break has given the whole squad a massive fillip ahead of the final run-in.
“A lot was made of the trip to Tenerife, and what kind of things supposedly happen where you’re away on trips like that,” he added.
“But I think they’re very important - not just for the work we do on the training field but what we do off the field as a group.
“Any time when you’re together as a group, whether it’s by the pool or in the hotel, and you’re talking about the position you’re in and how you can improve, that can only help.
“You saw it last year when we came back from Oman - there was a real togetherness and a real spirit about us - and hopefully the same will happen this year as well.”
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