Wigan Athletic boss sounds survival warning

Three wins in the space of a week – against Millwall, Reading and West Brom – have lifted Latics out of the Championship drop zone for the first time since late November.

But anyone thinking the hard work is over is in for short shrift from the manager.

“We’ve got to make sure we don’t drop back into the bottom three,” Cook said.

“Yes, we can have a sense of achievement at the moment.

“But we’ve actually achieved nothing yet, and we’ve got to make sure we remember that.

“Football can be a cruel game at times and we’ve just got to keep going.”

That said, a run of five wins and two draws from their last eight matches has Latics top of the Championship form league.

And Cook says the squad deserves a collective pat on the back for a remarkable turnaround in fortunes.

“These lads have never won three games in a row in this division,” he said.

“To beat Millwall, Reading and West Brom in the space of a week is an amazing achievement.

“We’ve had so much criticism levelled at us, it’s been free-flowing at times.

“You just have to live with that, and I thought we showed great character to pick up three big results and three clean sheets.

“In every single away game since Christmas, we’ve taken the lead.

“The last couple of times we’ve managed to see it out, so we’re obviously learning on the job.

“The brutal reality is there’s 10 games to go now, and there’s plenty of points for all the teams at the bottom to go at.

“The only league table that matters is the one at the end of the season, because that won’t tell any lies.”

Six of Wigan’s last 10 matches are at the DW Stadium, starting with Saturday’s visit of rock-bottom Luton.

Latics also host Blackburn, Stoke, QPR, Hull and Fulham, whose visit on May 2 marks the final day of the campaign.

Cook’s men face trips to Huddersfield, Brentford, Barnsley and Charlton.