Callum Elder says FA Cup won't distract Wigan Athletic from title bid

Latics have slipped into third place in the standings thanks to their FA Cup heroics, although they have three matches in hand over both Shrewsbury and Blackburn.

And Elder says there won’t be any problem of possible Wembley glory later in the season getting in the way of the bread and butter of the league over the next few weeks.

“This won’t take any attention away from the major priority for the season, which is to win promotion back to the Championship,” Elder told the Wigan Post.

“That carries on this Saturday against Rochdale, and that’s what all the focus will be on for now.

“We’re desperate to get back to the league form we were showing a couple of months ago, and everyone’s sure we can do that.

“At the same time, we know we’re one game away from playing at Wembley, and that’ll be a huge incentive at the back of our minds.

“It’s another home tie, and we’ve already beaten three Premier League teams at home so we don’t fear anyone.”

Almost 20,000 people turned up at the DW for Monday’s famous win over Manchester City, boosted by a sell-out away end and £15 adult tickets in the home end.

That made for a cracking atmosphere on the night, and Elder saya the backing from the stands is something they’ll need for the run-in.

“They turned up in massive numbers, and they really got behind us from start to finish,” the Australian added.

“We were all shattered at the end, but they kept us going and it was a great collective effort.

“Hopefully as many of them as possible will turn up this weekend and cheer us on to another win.”