Tendayi Darikwa discusses Wigan Athletic's season so far and looks ahead to the game against Middlesbrough

The two teams go head-to-head at the DW Stadium this evening, with the visitors currently managerless and sitting 22nd in the Championship table.

Darikwa states Wigan are determined to get the three points after losing from a winning position against Sunderland on Saturday.

He said: “It was disappointing coming away with nothing after going in 1-0 up at half time, but we probably didn’t play our best football of the season.

“It’s a tough place to go but we wanted to bring something back.

“With the fixture pile up at the minute, there’s always an opportunity to build on a win or get a few more points on the board after dropping some.

“We will focus on ourselves for this game and be as professional as we can be to get a good result.

“Middlesbrough are a good team. It doesn’t matter where they are in the division, they are capable of getting good results.

“They’ve got a very good squad of players, and while they’re looking for a new manager, it’s about us being the best we can be.

“At the end of the day, any game you play is for three points, it doesn’t matter who you are against or where they are in the league.”

Wigan are currently 17th in the table, six points off the automatic promotion spots and six points above the relegation zone.

“It’s always close,” Darikwa added.

“There’s a small margin between everyone. It changes fast, so you’ve always got to be mindful of the table.

“As professional players you look at it naturally.

“It shows that if you do go on a good run you can quickly creep into the better positions, but equally if you hit bad form then you’re always looking over your shoulder.

“It’s important not to get too high after a win and too low after a loss, it’s about being as consistent as we can and getting better results more often than not.

“When we haven’t got the results we’ve wanted, we’ve shown we are capable of bouncing back.

“As a newly promoted club the first port of call is, first and foremost, to stay in the division. We’ve had a decent start, but the frustration is in some of the games where we’ve dropped points, we could’ve got draws or wins.

“All in all it’s been a decent start, but there’s more to come from this group.

“Our home form hadn’t been the best until last week, so getting the first win on the board is something we can build on.

“The results at the DW wasn’t as bad as the outside noise said it was. After a promotion season, where you’re used to winning, it probably seems worse than it actually is.

“There’s certainly no crisis, we are confident home and away.

“It’s important to get as many points as we can, and at the end of the season we will look where we are and hopefully it’ll be another successful year for the football club.

“We’ve come a long way in the past two years, and to be where we are as players and fans is a credit to the club as a whole.”