'I've done it myself' - Wigan Athletic chief calls for ban on 'tactical ploy'
Gary Caldwell has called on the authorities to clamp down on the 'tactical ploy' of goalkeepers pretending to be injured to allow impromptu timeouts - even though the Wigan Athletic boss does it himself!
The cynical practice has become commonplace at grounds up and down the country this season across all levels of the game.
On Saturday, Latics were on the receiving end at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, as Reading used the ploy while the visitors were enjoying a good spell and threatening to mount a comeback.
While acknowledging Latics were well beaten on the day, Caldwell referenced the dark arts at play.
"I've done it myself," he said. "And it's clearly a tactical ploy.
"The powers that be have to change it, they have to make it more difficult for managers and coaches to do that.
"I don't think it changed too much in terms of the game on Saturday, I thought we had control of the game.
"We just didn't have the speed or the intensity in our attacking play to hurt them.
"If we had scored during that period, I think it would have changed the game. But we didn't manage to do that, and then we conceded another cheap goal which killed it off."
Caldwell also insisted Latics' 3-0 defeat should act as a 'wake-up call' to anyone in the camp not fully aware of the seriousness of the sitiation heading into the last month of the campaign.
"It's football, and nothing's ever going to be perfect," he said. "I said when I came into the job, it's not going to be easy.
"I've reiterated to the players that they cannot rest until the last game of the season, until we have enough points to ensure we are a League One club next year.
"If anybody thought differently before Reading, then that will have acted as another wake-up call, and focused the minds to working as hard as they can to get better.
"We've got seven big games ahead of us, we know what we have to do.
"The blocks help with this, we've had a very good start to this block, and Saturday won't affect what we want to achieve in this block, with two games to go.
"That gives us a calmness and a clarity on what we need to do, but I hope there's been a wake-up call for any individuals who weren't in that mindset. Because individually and as a team, that wasn't good enough."
Following the Easter double-header against Leyton Orient and Northampton Town, Latics will then face five matches in the last fortnight that will decided their final league position.
Two home games in the space of four days against Mansfield Town (April 11) and Rotherham United (April 14) are followed by a trip to Port Vale on April 19.
AFC Wimbledon are the final visitors to the Brick Community Stadium on April 25, before Latics close the campaign with a long trip down to Stevenage on May 2.