Wigan Athletic boss Leam Richardson highlights Preston North End loan ace Tom Bayliss as example to the rest

The Preston loan midfielder hadn’t played a minute of league action prior to last Tuesday’s visit of MK Dons, with his only action coming in the Carabao Cup and Papa John’s Trophy.

But with Jordan Cousins pulling up lame against Bolton – and facing several weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring problem, Bayliss kept his place for Saturday’s trip to Wimbledon.

And boss Richardson was rewarded with a fine display as Latics got back to winning ways with a 2-0 victory. “Tom’s come here to play, and I’m made up for him that we won on Saturday,” said Richardson.

“He’s worked really hard and trained really hard, and he’s waited patiently for his chance.

“And I thought he was excellent against Wimbledon, as part of an excellent team performance.

“But he’s not the only one, there’s others who have also been waiting for their chance to impress.

“I’m not picking teams to try and be clever, I’m picking them to try to do well, and to win.

“They just need to look at Tom Bayliss. ..last week he was out of the side, now he’s in the side and doing well.

“And I’ve got equal faith in all of the other lads in the squad, and they’ve seen how things can change if they keep working hard. You’ve got to go through tests as a group, they’ve got to stand up to challenges – and we want them.

“We’re all professionals here, and it’s that attention to detail, to want to put right wrongs, that’s part of the game.

“For every defeat and every setback you suffer, it’s about being able to respond in the right way, with character and resilience.”