Wigan Athletic boss wants no let-up on last day

Latics, of course, have already secured their League One safety with a week to spare. But Richardson doesn’t want any letting up after such a succcessful campaign where they’ve battled the odds on a weekly basis.

“It’s been a different week, with the game being on Sunday and us having secured our safety last Saturday,” he said.

“But all of our focus has remained on finishing the season as well as we can, and that means finishing with a win. Fingers crossed we can do that and round off the way we want to.

“The lads have been playing pretty much all season with that intense pressure of knowing every slip could prove costly in the final reckoning. Now they’ve earned the right to go out there and express themselves in a positive way, playing with a free will that comes with having secured safety.

“The bottom line is that we’re all professional – they’re professional, I’m professional – and we all want to win every game we play. That means we’ll be sending the strongest possible team out to try and do just that.”

Only five of Richardson’s first-team squad – Tom Pearce, Adam Long, Luke Robinson, Thelo Aasgaard and Callum Lang – are under contract for next term, meaning a host of players could be playing their last games.

Richardson, however, is hoping to retain several of the short-term signings that helped keep Latics up.

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