Kellett return is '˜Andy for Joyce

Luke Garbutt's injury opened the door for Andy Kellett's return

Wigan Athletic boss Warren Joyce hailed the return of Andy Kellett in midweek as a major positive heading into the festive period.

Kellett, who worked with Joyce at Manchester United, was making his first appearance since March after recovering from knee ligament damage.

The left-footed utility man was forced to fill in at right-back when Luke Garbutt pulled up lame in the first half.

But Joyce was happy with his contribution despite Newcastle’s 2-0 victory.

“We’ve obviously got a problem in that we don’t have a right-back, and lads are going there and playing out of position, without much experience of being in there,” Joyce acknowledged.

“To be fair to Andy I thought he did well for us, his general play was good.

“He gets caught out for the second goal, jumping in a mismatch.

“But a lot of the time he’s been played here as a No.10 and wide right and wide left.

“To be thrown in at right-back, when he’s not had many games, I thought he dealt with it well.”