Wigan Athletic chief makes league admission ahead of Blackpool test - 'It can create anxiety'
Gary Caldwell has revealed Wigan Athletic's league position will be the last thing on his mind as he attempts to negotiate them to League One safety.
Latics moved out of the bottom four as a result of last weekend's 1-0 victory over Huddersfield Town at the Brick Community Stadium.
In fact, they managed to reach the dizzy heights of sixth-bottom, with goal difference also seeing them leapfrogging Blackpool, who were spanked 4-0 at Lincoln City.
Ahead of this weekend's trip to Blackpool, Latics have a great chance to move closer to mid-table safety - but Caldwell is focused only on matters on the field.
"I don't care about league position at the moment," said Caldwell, repeating the mantra of Roberto Martinez during the Premier League years. "All I care about is the players, and how we can improve...day on day, week on week.
"As soon as I came into the club, I showed what we need to do. I split the 16 games we had remaining into three blocks, and we have a points total that we want to try to work towards.
"The first block was six games...we will assess where we are at the end of block one...and then look at what we need to do in blocks two and three, as we progress to the end of the season.
"I think when you're down there, it can create anxiety, and I think you could see that in the first half (against Huddersfield)...among the crowd and among the players.
"We need to be clear in terms of exactly what we need to do as a team - on the training pitch and in preparation for games - to get the points tally that we need to be in League One again this season.
"I would like it to be less stressful at times...I've said to the players, I used to have jet black hair, and it's getting grey very quickly...I'll be like Graham Barrow soon!
"But to get two wins in three games - when you've struggled for wins for so long - it's massive. But it's only a start, and it's something we need to build on."