James Carragher 'glad to be back' as Wigan Athletic target FA Cup progress with key message shared
James Carragher says is he ‘glad to be back’ from a lengthy spell on the sidelines, as he aims to help Wigan Athletic progress in the FA Cup.
The Malta international ended a 10-week injury absence in last Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Mansfield Town, coming off the bench for the final few minutes to help Ryan Lowe’s side pick up a well-earned point on the road.
But with his thigh injury now behind him, Carragher is set to start in Wigan’s first-round FA Cup tie against Hemel Hempstead Town at the Brick Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
“It’s been a bit longer than expected, but I’m glad to be back,” said Carragher. “I got my first few minutes last weekend, and I’ll hopefully get some more minutes this weekend, and hopefully get a good win and into the next round."
Carragher insists Latics will show full respect to Hemel Hempstead Town, with the National League South side making the trip up north for their first-ever meeting with Wigan.
"I think the message this week is our attitude and how we approach the game,” Carragher said.
"It was something that Glenn Whelan (assistant coach) mentioned – the biggest respect we can give them is playing the best we can and giving them our best attitude, because if we go there with a sloppy attitude thinking it will be easy, which it definitely won’t be, then bad habits could happen and they could get on top but our greatest respect will be going in minute one, putting it on them, trying to play and score as many goals as we can."
Carragher took time out for self-reflection during his time on the sidelines, something which he feels has proved beneficial.
"When I knew I was going to be out for the time I was out, I just had a bit of time to reflect on my own performance, how it looked from above when watching the lads and how you can improve when you’re back or help out with little bits,” Carragher continued.
"It’s just important that you don’t always see the bad sometimes. You can have a look back at some old clips, so when you get back, you can implement them into your game. On one side, being injured is hard because the lads are going out to training and playing, but on the other side of it, looking at where you can improve, get better and helping the lads is a good tool to have.”
Carragher is only in his second full season with Wigan’s first-team, but has already developed into a genuine leader with Lowe’s side, and it is something that comes naturally to the 22-year-old.
"It’s not something I really think about, I can’t help it really, I just talk and shout!” Carragher smiled. “Sometimes I have a laugh when the time is right, but I think one of my strengths with my communication is that I know when to be serious and I know when we can have a laugh and change that up, so hopefully it’s something I can bring this weekend and in training over the last couple of weeks, making sure the standards are up and that we’re on it.”