Byrne: Do our job, and the title is ours

Latics travel to Doncaster this weekend looking for the single point that will secure the League One title regardless of how second-placed Blackburn get on against Oxford.

And having made the running for most of the season, Byrne says there’s a fierce determination in the camp to see the job through.

“There’s 90 minutes of the season to go, we’re nearly there and hopefully the boys can raise themselves for one more go,” he told the Wigan Post.

“Promotion has been great, but to do it by going up as champions would be something else.

“There’s been three teams battling away at the top all season, which is not usually the case.

“Normally you get one or two teams being head and shoulders above the rest. Thankfully we’ve finally managed to get away from Shrewsbury, and it would be nice if we could pip Blackburn for top spot.”

Latics have already blown one chance to sew up the title, when they were held 1-1 at home by struggling AFC Wimbledon last weekend.

But the right-back - who is strongly tipped to walk away with the club’s player of the year award this weekend - says lessons have been learned.

“Obviously we wanted to clinch the title in front of our own supporters,” added Byrne.

“We weren’t good enough in the first half, but in the second half we had chances to win the game.

“We were camped at their end towards the finish, but we couldn’t quite get it over the line.

“It’s still in our own hands, though, with one game to go, and we’d have taken that at any point in the season.

“You always want it to be in your control, we don’t need to rely on favours from anyone else. If we do our job, the title will be ours, and that’s a big incentive for us.”