Wigan Athletic boss pinpoints unsung hero after Birmingham win

It looked daunting for Latics when Joe Bennett was shown a straight red card inside 10 minutes - despite TV replays showing he didn't make contact with City striker Lukas Jutkiewicz.

But the visitors dug deep and, after a tactical reshuffle - which saw striker Josh Magennis sacrificed for defender Ryan Nyambe - they came away with all three points thanks to Nathan Broadhead's late winner.

The Latics boss was asked after the game about the controversial call from the officials, but chose instead to highlight all the things his side did to overcome the odds.

"Listen, I'd prefer not to comment on refereeing decisions, there's a lot of moving parts to a game, some they get right and some they get wrong," he said.

"I'd rather focus on the positives...the honesty of the group, the return of Charlie Wyke, the Jamie Jones clean sheet, Nathan Broadhead's first goal, the captain (Tendayi Darikwa) leading by example, and the lads coming off the bench to carry on what the others had done.”

Richardson then made a point of hailing the contribution of Northern Ireland international Magennis, who was the unfortunate man to make way in the early substitution following Bennett’s sending-off, to accommodate the necessary tactical reshuffle.

When asked about the individual contributions of his players, Richardson added: "The lads all have a massive input in what we're doing - from how they behave around the training ground, to what they do on grounds up and down the country.

"And I thought they represented themselves terrifically well and deserved the win.

"I won't stand for anyone representing the shirt in any way other than incredibly well.

"We saw that with Josh (Magennis), who is an international footballer, but who knew the situation meant he had to come off.

"And the way he supported the lads who were on the field...he knows there'll be other days, and he'll be a massive part of those other days."