'Unbelievable' start for Wigan Athletic new-boy

The 21-year-old has spent most of his time with Latics in the treatment room since moving from Elland Road last summer.

But he took advantage of Antonee Robinson’s proposed move to AC Milan – which collapsed on deadline day – to make his league bow at his old stomping ground.

And a sensational backs-to-the-wall display saw Latics grind out a second win on the bounce to move to within two points of the safety mark.

“It was unbelievable,” Pearce enthused. “To come here and beat a side who were top of the league beforehand is a massive result for us.

“I thought we played well and dug in when we had to. It was a great result.

“Everyone is buzzing. We had to dig deep, and it’s always good to come back to a club where you’ve have played a few games and do well.”

Having dipped his toe in with an FA Cup debut at Leicester last month, Pearce slotted in like a duck to water on his Championship bow to show Leeds what they’re missing.

“When I first signed for Wigan, I was out for three or four months,” Ormskirk-born Pearce acknowledged.

“That was tough, but then I played in the FA Cup against Leicester.

“And to come here and get my first league start - and my first win - is an unbelievable feeling.”

Pearce almost added icing to the cake in the last 10 minutes when, after a Leeds corner was cleared, he raced three-quarters of the length of the field in on goal.

Unfortunately, as he prepared to pull the trigger, he had the ball taken off his toes - before being substituted.

“I think it was Stuart Dallas who caught me up,” Pearce smiled.

“I’ve gone to shoot and he’s just stopped me. It would have been some story if I had scored, but we’ll take the win.”

On Latics’ survival chances, he added: “We all feel we’re strong enough.

“We’ve got a great squad, a very close group of lads and we all believe we can stay up.”