Curtis Tilt wants to be Wigan Athletic 'leader'

New-boy Curtis Tilt has signalled his intention to lead from the back after joining Wigan Athletic until January.
Curtis Tilt at Christopher ParkCurtis Tilt at Christopher Park
Curtis Tilt at Christopher Park

The 29-year-old has joined on loan from Championship outfit Rotherham, to bolster a backline desperately needing experience after Danny Fox opted for a new challenge in India.

“I am buzzing to be here and I can’t wait to get started,” Tilt acknowledged. “I am here to get games and help the lads get into the top half of this league.

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“I feel in the best shape I have been throughout my career so it just a matter of getting match fit now. I like to get stuck in, win the ball, be aggressive and try and be a leader.”

Latics boss John Sheridan had been looking for a player to tick a specific few boxes, with only one space left in his squad due to the restrictions of administration.

It will also free Kal Naismith to play further up the field, in his normal position rather than as an emergency centre-back.

“Curtis is a natural defender, he's left-sided and we've been struggling with that since Danny Fox left," recognised Sheridan.

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“Both I and Leam (Richardson) know we're playing Naisy out of position.

"He can play there, but I like Naisy and I want him to play higher up the pitch where he's more effective."

It’s a move Rotherham manager Paul Warne – the former Latics striker – was only too happy to facilitate.

“I just needed him to play games,” Warne said. “Since the start of the year he has only played five games.

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“He has had a big operation on his hip, he didn’t have the pre-season everyone else did, and everyone knows how obsessed I am with pre-season.

“He found himself, through no fault of his own fifth choice, so he just needs to play football.

“We have two games a week now for the next month and then an international break, and we didn’t have the opportunity to get him games behind closed doors, so I didn’t think he was in a state to play first-team football.

“That is what going on loan enables him to do, it is great. Wigan get a very good League One defender who can play in the Championship when he comes back.

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“It is a win-win for us, Curtis wants to play football as well so it’s good for him.

People think that when you loan someone out that is the end of them, but that isn’t always the case. I want him to go and play well and get back in my team here.”

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