Wigan Athletic boss: We were lucky to still be in it

John Sheridan admits he's becoming increasingly frustrated about the Jekyll and Hyde nature of his Wigan Athletic side after seeing them rescue a point against Plymouth.
Will Keane thanks Kal Naismith for creating his goalWill Keane thanks Kal Naismith for creating his goal
Will Keane thanks Kal Naismith for creating his goal

Latics weren't at the races in the first half, and were very fortunate to only trail 1-0 to Ryan Hardie's 34th-minute effort.

However, the response in the second half was excellent and, after Lee Evans had a goal controversially disallowed, Will Keane equalised with 21 minutes to go.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It ended a run of four straight defeats - but Sheridan is far from happy with what he's seeing.

"I don't like saying it about my team, but I thought we were poor in the first half," the Latics boss said.

"And I think the lads would accept we were poor, we need to do a lot, lot better.

"We find ourselves 1-0 down, and the goal's down to us, it's a mistake from us.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"And we could easily have found ourselves two or three down, we were very fortunate to only be one behind at half-time.

"But again, I have to applaud the players for the way they came out in the second half.

"For the period leading up to our equaliser I thought we were very good, and we just did things we hadn't been doing in the first half.

"We started winning tackles, playing the ball forward quickly, sprinting more, and we started causing them problems.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"After the goal it became a bit of a basketball match, the last 20 minutes was end to end.

"It could be a big point in the end.

"Obviously I want to win every game, like everyone, and get a bit of confidence back into the team.

"Yes it's stopped our run of defeats, but we are fortunate to do that after where we were at half-time."

For the second weekend in a row, Sheridan was choking on a sense of injustice after seeing Evans' strike disallowed - because the linesman on the near side felt Kal Naismith's right-wing cross had gone out of play before being nodded back by Joe Garner.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"Whether it's a goal or not...I've seen it again and it is a difficult one," assessed Sheridan.

"But I can't for the life of me understand how a linesman can give a ball out of play - similar to last week at Charlton - when the referee is in a miles better position.

"Overall, we just need to start games better, we can't keep chasing games and allowing the opposition to dictate the game to us.

"Off the top of my head, there's Gillingham, Doncaster, Charlton and now Plymouth where we've not been able to get going and then dominated the second half.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I'd like us to start games on the front foot a lot more, and ourselves try to get an advantage in games.

"In the meantime, we've got to keep spirits up, keep the group together and be as positive and strong as we can."