Wigan Athletic boss opens up on 'man-management skills'

Evolution rather than revolution – that’s John Sheridan’s approach at Wigan Athletic.
John SheridanJohn Sheridan
John Sheridan

After being thrown in at the deep end on the eve of the campaign, Sheridan has helped to steady the ship somewhat.

Latics, who started the season with three defeats in a row, have now won their last two outings.

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And Sheridan says the positive atmosphere off the field is starting to reap benefits on a matchday.

“I think I get on with players, I think they respect me, if you ask players who’ve worked with me they’ll tell you that,” he told Wigan Today.

“But at the same time I can be quite straight with them, and I think you have to be.

“I’m a massive believer in man-management skills, and how you treat players as people.

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"If a player is coming in and training happy, I think generally they’ll give you more on a weekend.

“I think sometimes you say things you don’t really mean, but people who know me will know I’m honest and straight with people.

“Sometimes that helps you, sometimes it doesn’t. But it was something I always appreciated as a player, and something I believe works.”

Sheridan arrived after Leam Richardson approached the administrators to request an additional, experienced presence in the technical area.

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But the new man says he’s been careful not to change too much, too soon.

“I’ve tweaked one or two things, and moved one or two things around,” he added.

“But Leam and the other members of the coaching staff have been successful here before, and I don’t want to change too much.

“Obviously the (playing) personnel has changed and, without being disrespectful, maybe the calibre isn’t the same.

"But I’d like to think we can still try to play in the same way, and what I see in training has been very positive.”

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