Jamie's just what the Proctor ordered - Wigan Athletic chief

The big striker - on loan from Rotherham for the rest of the season - was thrown straight into the starting XI against Wimbledon at the DW Stadium, with Kyle Joseph nursing a back problem.

And he responded with a hugely encouraging display which saw him drag Latics level at 2-2 in the second half with a clinical finish.

Unfortunately, the Dons took advantage of more generous home defending to pinch a winning goal in the last 15 minutes, to leave Latics second-bottom of League One.

But Richardson was heartened by the way Proctor led the line and brought others around him into play, to prevent Latics going a fourth game in a row without scoring.

"I was impressed with Jamie, I thought he put himself about, a very honest lad, very honest pro who knows his way around the pitch," the Latics boss said.

"He took his goal fantastically well, and will probably be a little disappointed he didn't get at least one more.

"Again, he's one of those we're speaking about when we say in the dressing room there's now hundreds of games worth of experience.

"It's up to us as a group now to roll up our sleeves and move on as quickly as possible."

Despite again coming up just short against a relegation rival, Latics travel to third-bottom Northampton on Tuesday night still only three points adrift of safety.

"We've managed to stay in contention, and keep it at a level where we're still involved," added Richardson.

"Obviously it's up to us to throw some results together, and that's what we're aiming to do.

"We seem to be punished for every single mistake we're making at the moment, and that's the way it goes when you're at the bottom.

"But we've stayed on the same page, based on the criteria of where we want to be by the end of the season, and fingers crossed we'll get there."