Wigan Athletic guest column: Christian Walton

We knew it was going to be a tough game, they’re a good side who play good football.

It’s one of those where you take the point and move on to next week.

I think that makes it 10 clean sheets for the season, which is something we’re very proud of.

It’s obviously nowhere near as last year, but they’re almost worth double at this level.

Last year we were dominating games week in week out, but this year the standard is so much higher.

Even a team like Brentford, who aren’t very high in the league, showed how good they are in terms of handling the ball in good areas.

They’re one of the best sides in the league at moving the ball around the pitch.

And for us to be able to stand up to that and keep them out is credit to us.

Rotherham losing was good for us, it extends that gap to four points.

But we can’t be too worried about anyone else.

We’re just got to keep performing, keep picking up points and keep looking up rather than down.

Next up for us is Bristol City this weekend, which will be a very tough game.

They’re a team that’s been very strong on home soil and going for the play-offs.

But it’s about time we sorted our away form out, and I think we’re in a good place to be able to do that.

There’s nothing more we’d like to do than do that, and we’re boosted by having pretty much everyone fully fit.

Reece James has made a few headlines this year, and we’ve seen his quality first hand throughout the season.

I think that’s 40 games he’s played now and he’s shown what he can do in each of those games.

For a 19-year-old lad to step into this level and be able to do that week in, week out is credit to him.

It shows how good a player he will be, and how good a player he already is.

He’s still very young, and I think his next move will be massive for him.

He needs to keep playing, and keep testing himself against the best players in the country.

I’ve got no doubt he’ll get sorted with a good move next year, if that’s the way they go, and hopefully he can kick on.

* Christian Walton was speaking to Paul Kendrick