Wigan Athletic star reveals secret of his success

Wigan Athletic star Callum Lang insists the nomadic start to his career has played a crucial role in making him the player he is today.
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After spending time out at Morecambe, Oldham, Shrewsbury and Motherwell, Lang learnt his trade the hard way – with reports of his progress being sent back to his bosses at the DW.

Lang’s big opportunity at Wigan arrived last January, when he was recalled from his loan spell at Motherwell to try to help Latics pull off the greatest of Great Escapes.

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Nine goals in 23 matches helped Latics retain their League One status, and lay a solid grounding for the big rebuild this term under Phoenix 2021 Limited.

Lang, now 23, has already hit 15 goals this season, and he believes his development as a player is in no small part due to getting out early in his career and experiencing senior football.

“Going out on loan, it’s football really, it’s part of the game,” he said.

“Everyone has their own pathway, but I personally wouldn’t change any of the way I’ve done it.

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“At the same time, it’s nice to be back here and firmly settled at the club.

“I always told myself I wouldn’t be happy until I’d got myself in the team here, and to do that I’ve needed to keep scoring goals.

“At all the clubs I was at, everything I did was with the long-term aim of coming back here and nailing down a spot.”

Lang’s partnership with Will Keane (inset) is worth 32 goals this term - 28 in the league – which compares very favourably with recent double acts.

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They’d have to go some to match the 45 produced by Nathan Ellington and Jason Roberts in the Championship promotion campaign of 2004-05.

But second on that all-time list – the 34 scored by Will Grigg and Nick Powell under Paul Cook in 2017-18 – is well within reach...with almost a third of the campaign to go.

“We work together well on the pitch,” acknowledged Lang. “I want to score as many as I can, and so does he.

“When I don’t score, I like to see Keano on the scoresheet, and I’m sure it’s the same with him.

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“Humps (Stephen Humphrys) has come in and scored some vital goals, which keeps us on our toes.

“And we’re just waiting for Josh (Magennis) to get off the mark, which I’m sure is just around the corner.

“We played against him for Hull last year, he scored in both games against us and we know what he brings.

“It’s positive to have so many goals in the forward line, because it spurs us all on to better things.”

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Given his journey through the club’s Academy, Lang already has a special place in the hearts of the supporters as ‘one of our own’.

And he admits hearing the sound of thousands of people singing his name is still surreal to comprehend.

“It’s great to hear the fans singing that, it gives me a massive boost,” he added.

“There’s no better feeling than playing in a game and hearing your name being sung.

“Obviously you grow up playing football as a kid, and you don’t for one minute think one day fans will have made up a song for you.”