Wigan Athletic boss' unusual recipe for revenge!

Paul Cook has forced his Wigan Athletic squad to sit through video nasties of last season's thrashing at Preston to motivate them for Saturday's return trip.
Paul CookPaul Cook
Paul Cook

Latics put in their worst performance of the season at Deepdale in front of their biggest away following, crashing to a 4-0 defeat and having midfielder Darron Gibson sent off.

And Cook says he wants his men to remember just how much it hurt - to ensure there is no repeat.

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"We got well and truly battered there last season - that's all we can say," the Latics boss acknowledged.

"There's no excuses whatsoever. We were well and truly turned over by a very strong Preston side.

"We'll be going back there very much aware of what happened last year.

"And it will be a very real measure of how far we've come in the last 12 months.

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"We'll be aiming to do much better...it would be hard to do any worse, that's for sure!"

While some managers would have drawn a line under last season's derby debacle, Cook says it's healthy to keep it in mind.

"Our lads have been watching videos of that game all week," he revealed.

"It's funny, football...the pain doesn't go away. It still feels like it was yesterday.

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"You've just got to be careful not to get too emotionally involved in the game.

"This week, looking back at it, seeing the goals we conceded, the change in formation, everything.

"It's part and parcel of your football education as a player, and we had such a young backline last year.

"Days like that are a massive learning curve for everyone - myself included."