Individual plaudits no consolation for Wigan Athletic forward

Latics lost 1-0 at Bramall Lane - thanks to Iliman Ndiaye's eight-minute goal - and are now eight points adrift of safety with only six games remaining.

And despite his manager singling him out for praise in the post-match interviews, it meant little to Lang.

When told about the comments, he replied: "I don't know about that, I'm not sure about that.

"Personal stuff doesn't mean a lot at the moment, it's all about the group, and we didn't get the result we wanted."

Lang and Latics were again left to reflect on a performance during which they had decent spells, but again couldn't take full advantage.

“We had to take a big risk, and we left two players forward which made it tough for us defensively, but we know how solid we’ve been,” he said.

"I think we could have nicked one in the first half, which would have made it a bit easier for ourselves.

"It was another frustrating one, and we had to take a few risks in that second half.

"Unfortunately we couldn't get the goal back, but the belief is still there in the camp.

"All the lads were hurting in there after the game, but we'll not be hiding away from the task in hand.

"We're going to have to stand up to be counted, and we'll continue to give everything for the shirt.

"We need to stay positive, that's all we can do in this position.

Lang was also asked about comments reportedly made by a national radio station during the game, which appeared to call into question the 'ambition and fight' of the Latics players.

"It's a little bit frustrating if some people are questioning the belief in the camp," Lang countered.

"That's definitely not the case, but we know we need to pick up in terms of results before it's too late.

"Results elsewhere obviously didn't go great for us, but we just need to focus on ourselves and control what we can control."