Wigan Athletic challenged to channel 'lots of momentum' and arrest league dip

Latics host high-flying Wycombe - second on the ladder - on Saturday, looking to arrest a slump that's seen them pick up only one point from a possible nine.

After seeing two points slip through their fingers at Blackpool last Monday night, Latics bounced back with a successful trip to Cumbria at the weekend.

And Smith - who scored the match-clinching second goal at Brunton Park - hopes the side can build on that as they aim to pull clear of the drop-zone.

"Monday night felt like a loss after the game, we know we should have seen it out for the win," he said. "I was on the bench in the first half, and I was just watching it thinking 'We're playing brilliantly here'.

"To concede in the last minute was heartbreaking, and the rest of the week was all about getting people back 'up'. And to get the win at Carlisle was massive, and will hopefully give us a lot of momentum to take into the league against Wycombe. They're obviously flying at the moment, but we need to start picking up points at home."

The introduction of Smith off the bench at half-time helped Latics raise their game against 10-man Carlisle - who took the game to extra-time before bowing out.

After fellow substitute Scott Smith steered home Silko Thomas' cross on 105 minutes, Latics had to rely on Sam Tickle to pull off two incredible saves in the second period of added time.

Then, with seconds to go, and with Carlisle goalkeeper Gabe Breeze up for a late corner, Latics broke and Smith raced virtually the whole length of the field before tapping home.

"To be fair, I was just thinking about taking it as close to the goal as possible, so I didn't miss!" laughed the Liverpudlian. "With the quality in our team, we know we should have created more and scored more, but we got there in the end."

Latics scheduled home game against Burton Albion on Saturday, November 16 has been postponed due to international commitments.