Wigan Athletic chief issues 'belief' message after Stockport County draw
Ryan Lowe felt the 1-1 draw against high-flying Stockport County was further proof of what his Wigan Athletic players are capable of - if they 'believe' enough in themselves.
It was a real game of two halves at the Brick Community Stadium, with Stockport taking a fourth-minute lead through Jayden Fevrier's heavily deflected strike.
Latics did well to get to the interval without further damage but, boosted by the half-time introduction of Matt Smith, it was a different story after the break.
After Morgan Fox had hit the bar with a free-kick, the recent recruit crossed for Christian Saydee to volley home the equaliser with 12 minutes remaining.
And Latics had chances to win it, with substitute Paul Mullin firing just wide, and Joseph Hungbo seeing a late effort hacked off the line by Brad Hills.
"It was a very entertaining game, both teams wanted to win it," assessed Lowe. "We gave ourselves a bit of a mountain to climb in the first half, the goal came from an error, we gave them possession too cheaply.
"I said to the lads, it's a game of turnovers, and if we can limit our turnovers, we have a chance of winning the game. If we don't, and we keep giving them the ball away to good teams, they can hurt you.
"The shot then takes a ricochet on the way in, and I felt it was a bit of a sucker-punch. We managed to get through to half-time and changed one or two things.
"I didn't think we were passing the ball forward enough in the first half, and that's because there weren't enough options to pass the ball forwards.
"Tyrese (Francois) was getting the ball and there weren't enough options, so we changed that at half-time, we got Matt Smith on the field, and he got into little areas to pass forward.
"What we also did was getting the 8s and the wing-backs into better positions, and the strikers, so they could pass forward, which made a big difference.
"We showed them at half-time what we wanted, and to be fair to the boys, they went out and executed it in the second half.
"When you get done by a goal of that ilk, it does knock you, but the lads just need to believe, because they're good footballers.
"You should see them in training, honestly it's frightening, the attitude and application they show, which they take into games.
"In terms of the standards, it's top drawer, it's Championship standard, I see it on a daily basis.
"I just need them to believe in themselves a bit more in games because, if they do, they can more than match the best teams in this league - and we should have gone on to win it."
After Stockport’s fortuitous opener, Wigan were indebted to skipper Jason Kerr for a vital interception as the visitors went for a second.
Wigan looked a completely different side after the break, and Will Aimson’s cross was only just too strong for Dara Costelloe.
Aimson was then clattered by ex-Wigan man Callum Connolly, who was fortunate to avoid a red card, with Fox then hitting the woodwork from the set-piece.
After Sam Tickle denied Benony Andresson, Saydee levelled – before Mullin and Hungbo almost forced winning goals.