Booing is not the answer - Wigan Athletic boss

Paul Cook has warned the Wigan Athletic fans who booed at half-time and full-time on Saturday will only lead to '˜fear and reduced productivity'.
Paul CookPaul Cook
Paul Cook

A section of the fanbase showed their displeasure both at the midway point and the end as Birmingham City swept to a 3-0 victory at the DW Stadium.

Latics have now won only one of their last 10 matches - but Cook didn’t appreciate the negative feedback one bit.

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“Will all due respect, if people want to debate football now, it would genuinely send you over the edge, send you off the cliff,” he said.

“If the Wigan fans thought it right and correct to boo, that is only going to lead to reduced productivity.

“That will only make players not want to go out there and play, it will lead to fear, and all the traits that are associated with teams who are struggling to win games.

“We’ve won plenty of games in the 18 months I’ve been here, especially at the DW Stadium, against some very big teams.

“We must find a way back, and that is my job.”

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Cook also provided a prickly response when asked whether his side’s fine start to the campaign - they were third at the end of September - made the run of one win in 10 games harder to stomach.

“Your stats are what they are - my stats are we have 25 points at the halfway point of the season,” he snapped.

“And that’s been achieved irrespective of how we started or how we’re doing now.

“We’re having hard luck stories at the moment that you end up writing books on.

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“We all know the rules in this game - this is a results business.

“But for me, the team has only just come up from League One, and we’re looking towards January.

“And I think it’s very obvious to everyone that we need a bit of help.”

Latics actually started the brighter against Birmingham but, with Will Grigg being left on the bench, they were unable to nose in front before the visitors took charge.

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“It was a call for Vaughany’s physicality over Griggy’s movement,” explained Cook.

“I just thought we needed some physicality about us in a game like this.

“We all know Will Grigg is our top scorer, but against these big, physical sides you have to have a rethink.

“If Josh Windass puts away the chance inside the first five minutes, we’re probably having a different conversation.”