Bittersweet feeling for Wigan Athletic goalscorer after draw

The on-loan Watford man popped up with the Latics equaliser on the hour mark after Blues had led from the fourth minute thanks to a Juninho Bacuna free-kick.

Birmingham went on to hit the same post three times in the space of three minutes around the three-quarter mark, with Latics riding their luck at times.

But half-time substitute Will Keane forced a fine save from John Ruddy and also fired into the side-netting for Latics, who enjoyed 72 per cent possession but couldn't force a crucial winning goal.

"Apart from the goal and the penalty they didn't really create too much," said Fletcher.

"We had a few chances in the second half, that on another day go in.

"We know we needed the three points and we didn't get them.

"A draw is not the worst result in the world, but it was three we were after.

"We'll have to take it and move on to the next game."

Despite moving off the bottom of the table with the point, Latics saw the gap to safety extend to six points - with a dozen matches to go.

"Psychologically, it's nice being off the bottom of the table," said Fletcher. "But six points from safety is also a big gap, which is not ideal.

"We've got two games coming up in the next week, which gives us a good chance to close that gap.

"And we've also got a game in hand on most of the other sides which we need to make count.

"We need to put pressure on the teams above us, and we can only do that by winning games."

It doesn’t get any easier for Latics, who now face trips to West Brom and Burnley in the next week.

"We've got two massive games coming up, but these are the games you want to play in as a footballer," added Fletcher.

"You want to play against the top teams at the best stadiums, and we're looking forward to the challenge.

"We're a very positive bunch, we're all up for the fight, and we'll take it game by game."