Paul Mullin urges Wigan Athletic to 'stick together' after week to forget with optimistic outlook
Paul Mullin has urged Wigan Athletic to stick together after a bruising week that saw the team lose three matches in eight days, calling on his teammates to show character and bounce back quickly.
The Latics endured a nightmare run, starting with a painful 4-1 derby defeat to Bolton Wanderers at the Toughsheet Community Stadium. That was followed by a Carabao Cup exit at home to Wycombe Wanderers before Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Cardiff City capped off a forgettable week.
Mullin admitted the results were hard to take, but stressed they don’t have to define the team’s campaign.
“It’s been a very frustrating week," he acknowledged. "It's been a tough week.
“I think last weekend (at Bolton), we were nowhere near what we've set for ourselves.
"The first couple of games this season, I think we've been very good, and then last week was a setback.
"Obviously, midweek, we made a lot of changes in the Cup, and equally, we didn't really get going to what we've been practising on the training pitch.”
The striker reflected on Saturday’s defeat, admitting the Latics never fully got to grips with Cardiff’s style of play after a bright start.
“Coming into Saturday, we’ve had a brilliant home record from last year, and we’ve carried that into this year in the league,” Mullin said.
“It was our aim to keep that going, but it wasn’t to be. I don't think we were good enough in all aspects.
"Obviously, they’re a good side, but I think we probably showed them a bit too much respect at times and just switched off for the goal.
“We also had Christian Saydee’s chance early in the first half – if that goes in, it could change the game, although they controlled a lot of it.
"They’re very possession-based and didn’t really cut us open too much, but they controlled the game from probably the 10th minute onwards. We struggled to get to grips with their press and the movement they had.”
Despite the setbacks, Mullin believes the team can quickly turn things around, starting with Saturday’s home clash against Plymouth.
“Us as players and everyone involved – staff, everyone around the place – we've got to stick together,” he said. “It's been a tough week, but a week that hopefully isn't going to define our season.
"We can turn it around really quickly. In football, you get another chance around the corner. We've just got to work as hard as we can to put what's gone wrong right on the training pitch.
"We didn’t manage to do it against Cardiff, but I'm pretty sure starting from tomorrow, we'll prepare for next week and make sure we do a helluva lot better than we have done in the last three games."