Survival was 'personal' - Wigan Athletic hero

The 22-year-old’s January return from loan at Motherwell coincided with an upturn in fortunes for Latics.

His nine goals in 23 matches helped achieve the greatest of Great Escapes, and the Liverpudlian – Latic’ longest-serving player – says it was more than just a job.

“Obviously I had to go out on loan at the beginning of the season, and I enjoyed myself up there,” he said.

“Buts I always wanted to come back here and do my bit to help the club...it was definitely personal for me.

“Wigan signed me when I was a kid, they gave me a chance when others wouldn’t, and I definitely wanted to give them something back.

“They showed a lot of trust in me to give me the No.9 shirt when I got back, and I wanted to repay that faith on the field.

“With everything that was going on, as players we were probably the lucky ones, because there were a lot of people who were a lot more affected than us, like those who lost their jobs.

“As players our motivation was to perform as well as we could on the field, and make the club as attractive as possible to new investors.”

Lang also says the spirit in the camp played a huge role in survival.

“Even with everything that was going on, morale was always high, and the gaffer did a great job in gelling everything together,” he added.

“Everyone comes together at times like that and, even though it was a hard time, it was one of the nicest and most enjoyable periods of my career, to be part of something like that.”

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