Dan desperate for Wigan Athletic to keep going

Latics host struggling MK Dons this weekend looking to go back to the top of League One, having slipped down to third on the ladder after defeat at Portsmouth on Easter Monday.

Just two points separate leaders Blackburn (82) and third-placed Latics (80), with second-placed Shrewsbury (81) also hugely in the equation.

But with Rovers having played one game more and Town two, Burn says the odds are still in Wigan’s favour – despite the incredible roller-coaster ride going back all the way to last August.

“It’s crazy the way things are at the top,” he told the Wigan Post.

“I think in any other season we’d have been home and dry at the top, with the amount of points on the board.

“But fair play to Blackburn and Shrewsbury.

“They’ve managed to keep up the pace all season, and there’ll be a lot more twists and turns to come.

“The good thing is we’ve got games in hand, it’s still in our hands, and I’m sure we’ll come out on top.”

Latics are aiming to get back to winning ways at the DW Stadium against an MK Dons side who provided a stern test on the opening day of the season, only to lose to a solitary Nick Powell goal.

Monday’s 2-1 defeat at Portsmouth ended a run of four successive league wins for Latics, and Burn admits the mood afterwards in the dressing room wasn’t one he’d like to experience again in a hurry.

“It was such a frustrating night for us,” he acknowledged.

“They had two shots on goal all night, two goals, and it’s won them the game. The disappointing thing is we had a chance to move clear at the top of the league and we couldn’t take it.

“I just think it was one of those days where nothing went for us from start to finish.

“Their goalkeeper’s made some great saves, we’ve also hit the bar.

“They’ve obviously got a good crowd that gets behind them well, and I think that was maybe a factor as well.

“We’re the biggest team in this league, and any team that gets a result against us is a big thing.

“It’s not like we can really blame fatigue, because they played Saturday-Monday so had even less preparation time than us.

“At this level, you know you’re going to play a lot of games, sometimes in a short space of time, and you just have to get on with it.

“There’s a lot of the lads who’ve played in the majority of the games this season, but we’re fit enough to be able to cope.

“We just keep going, keep ticking the games off, and keep the pressure on the others.”

Burn was left seething following the major talking point just before half-time, when he was adjudged to have tripped Ben Close on the edge of the area, which led to Brett Pitman opening the scoring from the penalty spot.

Asked if he had any complaints, Burn replied: “Yes, every complaint! It was never a penalty, it was out of the box.

“I thought the referee was shocking, which just adds to the frustration, because he’ll be refereeing next weekend and maybe some of the lads might not play because of those decisions.

“It’s frustrating, but maybe we’ll get something down the line to even it up.

“All we can do now is pick ourselves up and move on to Saturday.”